Dinky fish fuels a political flap

Once again, the small but vital fish known as the menhaden is creating a political storm in Virginia.

No wonder. Virginia is the last state on the East Coast to allow big, industrialized harvests of menhaden. Conservationists and sportsmen have tussled with state politicians and business leaders for decades to slow, or even halt, such fishing practices in the Chesapeake Bay.

The catch is so large that the tiny town of Reedville on the Northern Neck is the second-largest fishing port by volume in the nation.

Enter state Sen. Ralph Northam, a Democrat from Norfolk. He tried unsuccessfully to shift the job of managing menhaden from state politicians in Richmond and into the hands of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which regulates all other coastal fish species.

His bill failed, as similar bills have for years, in part because of the political clout of Omega Protein. The Texas-based company processes tons of menhaden in Reedville each year, the last such facility left in the town after more than a century of converting fish into oil, pet food, meal and, more recently, health supplements. The Omega plant, on the shores of the Bay, remains one of the largest employers on the Northern Neck.

Two weeks ago, Northam announced a "bipartisan panel" that would spend the summer taking "a long, hard look at the management of menhaden," according to a news release sent by his office.

Problem was, Omega and some of its allies - watermen, laborers, bait buyers, the NAACP - say Northam assured them the panel would conduct "informal talks" and that no news releases would be circulated about them.

Omega smelled an ambush.

"The design of these meetings seems to be intended to provide a platform for opponents of the menhaden industry, and not to have a constructive dialogue," Ben Landry, Omega's director of public affairs, wrote in a June 30 letter to Northam.

"Our concern deals with trust," he wrote. "We cannot help but feel misled."

Northam apologized for any confusion and promised that no public comments would be allowed at three scheduled hearings around the state, just testimony from scientists and other experts. But he dropped a few zingers, too.

"It appears to me that you are concerned with having to address the issue of menhaden management in front of the public," Northam wrote. "If, as you claim, the fishery is healthy and not in need of further oversight, that will be borne out by the experts presenting to the group, and by the discussions that ensue."

Reached Friday in Louisiana, where Omega's boats do most of their fishing, Landry said: "We get the feeling that this is about creating public sentiment this summer so they can try to pass their bill again in the fall."

Menhaden are filter feeders that aid water quality in the Bay, though not as much as scientists have long believed. They are fodder for game fish, making them popular as bait and to sports anglers.

Omega operates in Virginia under a cap, enacted in 2006, allowing no more than 109,020 metric tons of menhaden to be caught each year. The cap was extended this year through 2013.

But environmentalists say an Atlantic coastwide stock assessment released in May shows foreboding signs - fewer baby menhaden, harvests that approach but do not cross "overfishing" status.

"Vested interests will probably try to cherry-pick the science and say there is no problem with the menhaden population," said Bill Goldsborough, a fisheries scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental group. "But that is dead wrong."

The state delegate who represents Reedville, Albert Pollard, a Democrat, almost always sides with the Bay Foundation on environmental issues - but not this one.

"I'm satisfied with the legislature handling this species, but I'm open to hearing more of the science," Pollard said, adding that he plans to participate in Northam's work group.

"Menhaden may be the only fishery the legislature manages," Pollard said, "but it's also the only one with a constituency trying to shut it down."

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com