As a third generation resident of Virginia Beach I grew up fishing recreationally with my father and grandfather. I see pictures of the stripers that used to be abundant in the winter, and cobia and red drum that used to be caught during the summer. It is very clear that over the past several decades the fishery in the Chesapeake Bay and nearshore in the Atlantic has decreased in volume and size of catch. If the commercial menhaden fishery, which regularly violates regulations set by the Virginia lawmakers and empowered departments, continues to overfish the population of the most prevalent food source of these larger species and use gear that encourages bycatch of these larger species, then it will continue to degrade the public recreational fishery.