I have been a long time fisherman on the bay.  I have seen the bluefish come and go.  I have seen the striped bass come and go and come and go again.  I have seen Cobia come and now going.  The creel limits on these fish continue to drop in an effort to increase the population yet the harvests and populations have been falling.  Omega's fishing in the bay is in my opinion a significant contributor to the decline owing to the significant impact on the forage fish population and the large by-catch kill. 

One of the main arguments against this petition is the loss of jobs.  There are estimated 260 jobs in the Northern Neck area connected to the industry.  The reduction of the Bay harvest would reduce Omega's catch by about 30% if the do not expand their Atlantic harvest.  I assume they would expand their Atlantic harvest given their capital investment.  There will be loss of job but only a fraction of the current employment.  The tradeoff between these jobs and the health of the fishery is clear.

I fully support this petition which will preserve the industry to sustainable level thereby improving the health of the bay and ensuring long term job opportunities.