The Chesapeake's "live bottom" benthic communities are as important to this ecosystem as coral reefs are to shallow waters all over the Earth. The lead lines of purse nets can tear these communities to pieces when set where they drag bottom in shallow water.
I urge the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to begin a regulatory process to determine the appropriate depth of purse seines in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and areas where this gear is not appropriate due to depth and/or other important resources. Recent net spills have highlighted the need to have regulations that better protect Virginias marine resources. The size and scale of the menhaden reduction fleet continues to raise significant questions about its effects on the menhaden population in Chesapeake Bay. Setting such regulations could help simply ensure that other Bay resources not targeted by this fishery will not be negatively affected by this resource.