Can Trump Fix the Menhaden Problem?

From the Center Square, Group wants Trump to intervene in fight over U.S. fish

A group of anglers got President Donald Trump's attention in a long-running campaign to protect a lesser-known forage fish in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association posted a 4-minute video on YouTube that blames a reduction in menhaden in the bay on the Canadian company Cooke Seafood. A letter posted along with the video calls on Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to stop Cooke Seafood from removing menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay and other Virginia waters.

"Foreign companies profit off of industrial fishing for U.S. forage fish (aka bait fish) undermining American businesses and workers," the group wrote in a Change.org petition. "By taking bold action to end industrial scale fishing for vulnerable bait fish, America can harness the full economic potential of our fisheries, create jobs, and secure a sustainable future for America's fishing industry and coastal communities."

The company involved in the menhaden operation, Ocean Harvesters, disputed the allegations in the video.

"Ocean Harvesters continues a long and proud tradition of menhaden fishing in Virginia's Northern Neck region, where menhaden fishermen have operated continuously for over 145 years," the company said in a statement. "Ocean Harvesters vessels are crewed primarily by American fishermen, many of whom are multi-generational, holding the same jobs as their fathers and grandfathers. The fishery employs hundreds of local workers directly, and hundreds more indirectly, and has long been one of the best sources of good-paying jobs in the region."

The video casts the conflict as a battle between local anglers and a giant Canadian-owned conglomerate illegally fishing in U.S. waters. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Cooke, Ocean Fleet Services and others in January.

I'd like to see the Menhaden reduction fishery moved out of the Bay, and reduced in volume. I just can't get over my own observation the huge schools of large Menhaden used to swim off our shore, and that has been not true for many years now. I think evidence is growing that it is affecting Ospreys, and if it affects Ospreys it's likely affecting Striped Bass too. 

I doubt Trump will step in. It's a big deal in the Bay community, but on the national scale it's miniscule. 

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