Bunker in the News

[jonthepain]

I found this article in my local paper (Raleigh News&Observer) this morning:

A Fish Oil Story

By PAUL GREENBERG
Published: December 15, 2009

“WHAT’S the deal with fish oil?”

If you are someone who catches and eats a lot of fish, as I am, you get adept at answering questions about which fish are safe, which are sustainable and which should be avoided altogether. But when this fish oil question arrived in my inbox recently, I was stumped. I knew that concerns about overfishing had prompted many consumers to choose supplements as a guilt-free way of getting their omega-3 fatty acids, which studies show lower triglycerides and the risk of heart attack. But I had never looked into the fish behind the oil and whether it was fit, morally or environmentally speaking, to be consumed.

The deal with fish oil, I found out, is that a considerable portion of it comes from a creature upon which the entire Atlantic coastal ecosystem relies, a big-headed, smelly, foot-long member of the herring family called menhaden, which a recent book identifies in its title as “The Most Important Fish in the Sea.”

The book’s author, H. Bruce Franklin, compares menhaden to the passenger pigeon and related to me recently how his research uncovered that populations were once so large that “the vanguard of the fish’s annual migration would reach Cape Cod while the rearguard was still in Maine.” Menhaden filter-feed nearly exclusively on algae, the most abundant forage in the world, and are prolifically good at converting that algae into omega-3 fatty acids and other important proteins and oils. They also form the basis of the Atlantic Coast’s marine food chain.

Nearly every fish a fish eater likes to eat eats menhaden. Bluefin tuna, striped bass, redfish and bluefish are just a few of the diners at the menhaden buffet. All of these fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids but are unable themselves to synthesize them. The omega-3s they have come from menhaden.

But menhaden are entering the final losing phases of a century-and-a-half fight for survival that began when humans started turning huge schools into fertilizer and lamp oil. Once petroleum-based oils replaced menhaden oil in lamps, trillions of menhaden were ground into feed for hogs, chickens and pets. Today, hundreds of billions of pounds of them are converted into lipstick, salmon feed, paint, “buttery spread,” salad dressing and, yes, some of those omega-3 supplements you have been forcing on your children. All of these products can be made with more environmentally benign substitutes, but menhaden are still used in great (though declining) numbers because they can be caught and processed cheaply.

For the last decade, one company, Omega Protein of Houston, has been catching 90 percent of the nation’s menhaden. The perniciousness of menhaden removals has been widely enough recognized that 13 of the 15 Atlantic states have banned Omega Protein’s boats from their waters. But the company’s toehold in North Carolina and Virginia (where it has its largest processing plant), and its continued right to fish in federal waters, means a half-billion menhaden are still taken from the ecosystem every year.

For fish guys like me, this egregious privatization of what is essentially a public resource is shocking. But even if you are not interested in fish, there is an important reason for concern about menhaden’s decline.

Quite simply, menhaden keep the water clean. The muddy brown color of the Long Island Sound and the growing dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay are the direct result of inadequate water filtration — a job that was once carried out by menhaden. An adult menhaden can rid four to six gallons of water of algae in a minute. Imagine then the water-cleaning capacity of the half-billion menhaden we “reduce” into oil every year.

So what is the seeker of omega-3 supplements to do? Bruce Franklin points out that there are 75 commercial products — including fish-oil pills made from fish discards — that don’t contribute directly to the depletion of a fishery. Flax oil also fits the bill and uses no fish at all.

But I’ve come to realize that, as with many issues surrounding fish, more powerful fulcrums than consumer choice need to be put in motion to fix things. President Obama and the Congressional leadership have repeatedly stressed their commitment to wresting the wealth of the nation from the hands of a few. A demonstration of this commitment would be to ban the fishing of menhaden in federal waters. The Virginia Legislature could enact a similar moratorium in the Chesapeake Bay (the largest menhaden nursery in the world).

The menhaden is a small fish that in its multitudes plays such a big role in our economy and environment that its fate shouldn’t be effectively controlled by a single company and its bottles of fish oil supplements. If our government is serious about standing up for the little guy, it should start by giving a little, but crucial, fish a fair deal.

Paul Greenberg is the author of the forthcoming “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food.”

Good to see the mainstream finally noticing the plight of Bunker, and recognizing the global impact that the overfishing of Bunker is having on our natural resources. If only someone would listen...

[voyager35]

I found this article in my local paper (Raleigh News&Observer) this morning:

A Fish Oil Story

By PAUL GREENBERG
Published: December 15, 2009

“WHAT’S the deal with fish oil?”
Quite simply, menhaden keep the water clean. The muddy brown color of the Long Island Sound and the growing dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay are the direct result of inadequate water filtration — a job that was once carried out by menhaden. An adult menhaden can rid four to six gallons of water of algae in a minute. Imagine then the water-cleaning capacity of the half-billion menhaden we “reduce” into oil every year.

So what is the seeker of omega-3 supplements to do? Bruce Franklin points out that there are 75 commercial products — including fish-oil pills made from fish discards — that don’t contribute directly to the depletion of a fishery. Flax oil also fits the bill and uses no fish at all.



Good point, there are quite a few alternatives to bunker.

[CharlieTuna]

For the last decade, one company, Omega Protein of Houston, has been catching 90 percent of the nation’s menhaden. The perniciousness of menhaden removals has been widely enough recognized that 13 of the 15 Atlantic states have banned Omega Protein’s boats from their waters. But the company’s toehold in North Carolina and Virginia (where it has its largest processing plant), and its continued right to fish in federal waters, means a half-billion menhaden are still taken from the ecosystem every year.



North Carolina and Virginia are holdouts, that doesn't surprise me. I wonder how much Omega Protein contributes to the campaign funds for the Senators and Representatives from those states?

[jonthepain]

Worth looking into.

found virginia's. having trouble tracking down NC's.

http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/index/137690

http://www.vpap.org/lobbyists/lobbying_client/137690?lobbying_client_id=137690&period=2008-2009

Here's their 2003 financials:

http://www.omegaproteininc.com/pdf/2003annual.pdf

They caught a LOT of fish in 2003

[porgy75]

from the annual report 2003





The Company’s harvesting season generally extends from May through December on the mid-Atlantic coast
and from April through October on the Gulf coast. During the off season and the first few months of each fishing
season, the Company fills purchase orders from the inventory it has accumulated during the previous fishing
season. Prices for the Company’s products tend to be lower during the fishing season when product is more
abundant than in the off season. Throughout the entire year, prices are significantly influenced by supply and
demand in world markets for competing products, particularly other globally produced fish meal and fish oil as
well as other animal proteins and soybean meal for its fish meal products and vegetable fats and oils for its fish
oil products when used as an alternative to vegetable fats and oils.
The fish catch is processed into FAQ grade fish meal, specialty fish meals, fish oils and fish solubles at the
Company’s four operating plants located in Virginia, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Company utilized 40
fishing vessels and 34 spotter craft in the harvesting operations during 2003. Menhaden are harvested offshore
the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. In 2000, the Company converted several of its fishing vessels
to “carry vessels” which do not engage in active fishing but instead carry fish from the Company’s offshore
fishing vessels to its plants. Utilization of carry vessels increases the amount of time that certain of the
Company’s fishing vessels remain offshore fishing productive waters and therefore increases the Company’s fish
catch per vessel employed. The carry vessels have reduced crews and crew expenses and incur less maintenance
cost then the actual fishing vessels.



Under a program offered through National Marine Fisheries Services (“NMFS”) pursuant to Title XI, the
Company has secured loans through lenders with terms generally ranging between 12 and 20 years at interest
rates between 6% and 8% per annum which are enhanced with a government guaranty to the lender for up to
80% of the financing. The Company’s current Title XI borrowings are secured by liens on 17 fishing vessels and
mortgages on the Company’s Reedville, Virginia and Abbeville, Louisiana plants. In 1996, Title XI borrowing
was modified to permit use of proceeds from borrowings obtained through this program for shoreside
construction. The Company used the entire $20.6 million amount originally authorized under the program. Loans
are now available under similar terms pursuant to the Title XI program without intervening lenders. The
Company borrowed $1.9 million under this new program during 2001 and closed an additional $5.3 million Title
XI loan on December 30, 2003.



The national marine fisheries service lends this company money to operate? At 6-8%.
I want to start my own business, will they lend me money at that rate? I don't understand a lot of this though something seems fishy about that. jonthepain, how do you understand this stuff, what do you make of it, And do you have a source for the 2008 annaul report?

[finchaser]

The debate this year over menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay is over. And once again, the industry that catches and processes millions of these important little fish has won.
Bills favored by environmentalists and sportsmen that would have shifted how menhaden are managed in Virginia waters were soundly defeated last week in both the state House and Senate.

One sponsor, state Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, pulled his bill from consideration before debating the issue, knowing it was headed for defeat.

In the House, a subcommittee voted unanimously the next day to kill an identical bill from state Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake.
Both bills would have stripped the General Assembly of its long-held power to oversee menhaden and instead give that authority to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, a state agency that regulates all other fish and shellfish species in coastal waters.
"I guess the time for this just isn't right yet," Cosgrove said afterward.

For Omega Protein, the only company left in Virginia that converts millions of pounds of menhaden each year into fish meal, pet food and o mega-3 health supplements, it was another slam-dunk victory, coming after decades of other victories in the state capital.
Ben Landry, a company spokesman, said Omega Protein will continue to operate under a federally imposed harvest cap and promised "a continued healthy, sustainable menhaden resource" in the Bay.

The cap, imposed in 2007 under a compromise brokered by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, is due to expire this year.
Omega Protein never has violated the limits and supports legislation now sailing through the House and Senate to extend that cap until 2014.
Critics say the cap is too lenient and want harvests reduced.

They argue the Bay contains too few menhaden and, as a result, water quality is suffering as well as the health of game fish that rely on menhaden in their diet.

Omega counters that existing science shows that menhaden stocks are not overfished and that its processing plant in Reedville is a major economic engine on the Northern Neck.

The company also says that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a federal panel, is where menhaden regulations stem from and that arguing over which state body should oversee harvests is misdirected.

Still, the company spent thousands of dollars on lobbyists and in campaign contributions in Virginia last year.
According to data collected by the Virginia Public Access Project, Omega spent more than $65,000 to hire three lobbyists between May 2008 and May 2009.

Omega also gave more than $69,000 to candidates during that same time, with the largest amount, nearly $30,000, going to Gov. Bob McDonnell's campaign, according to election data.

[surfstix1963]

Last paragraph spells it all out Good old politics and heavy contributors thats the main reason this country in the toilet deep pockets and everyone else is sitting back laughing their _sses off at us.Ask the US they'll give anything to anybody except their own people who are laying out all the $$ in every concievable tax they can throw upon us.Socialism at its finest you do what we say and if you don't like it to bad we tell you what we want you don't tell us. :burn::burn::burn::2flip:

[Monty]

What he :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: said, except with double ::burn::burn::burn::2flip::burn::burn::burn: :2flip:

[gjb1969]

money talks !!!:beatin::beatin is what they all need and they all can go to he$$ :2flip:

[Frankiesurf]

That is terribly upsetting news. It really is a shame how our elected officials act. Greed knows no bounds.

Speechless.

[DarkSkies]

That is terribly upsetting news. It really is a shame how our elected officials act. Greed knows no bounds.

Speechless.

And while what's done is done, we can raise awareness of the money trail, and the politicians who consistently seem to support OMEGA without question. Feel free to do some research and start putting up the numbers in this and other bunker threads, guys.

I think the more awareness we can raise about how these politicians are being paid off, the more active people will eventually become in standing against it.

[strikezone31]

Sometimes I wonder if they always have their head in their arse. What are they doing to the long term effects of fishing? They have no desire to have any type of fishing what so ever left for their descendents. It's all about money and greed.
:beatin:

[voyager35]

Still, the company spent thousands of dollars on lobbyists and in campaign contributions in Virginia last year.
According to data collected by the Virginia Public Access Project, Omega spent more than $65,000 to hire three lobbyists between May 2008 and May 2009.

Omega also gave more than $69,000 to candidates during that same time, with the largest amount, nearly $30,000, going to Gov. Bob McDonnell's campaign, according to election data.


I think it's criminal how Omega can get away with all this. Here is a complete breakdown of the contributions.


http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/index/137690 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/index/137690)


Omega donated to 7 of the 15 members of the Senate Committee On Agriculture, conservation and Natural Resources. Of those, 2 are among the 5 on the Senate subcommittee that head the matter before it got to the full committee.

Omega donated to 10 of the 23 members of the House Committee On Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources. Of those 6 are among the 9 members of the House subcommittee that heard the matter before it got to the full committee.

Things get killed in subcommittee and never see the light of day in the committee.
On both committee the chairpersons go $2,000 donations.
This listing does not include Omega employees or lobbyists.


$25,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2931) McDonnell Inaugural Committee 2010
$4,744 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1581) McDonnell for Governor - Robert
$2,500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1844) Bolling for Lt Governor - Bill
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1811) Pollard for Delegate - Albert
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1135) Lewis for Delegate - Lynwood (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1566) Saxman for Delegate - Christopher
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=923) Moving Virginia Forward
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1804) Stuart for Senate - Richard (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1686) Morgan for Delegate - Harvey (Chair, House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1055) Ware for Delegate - Lee (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$2,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1692) Ticer for Senate - Patricia (Chair, Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$1,500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1696) Saslaw for Senate - Richard
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2038) Cuccinelli for Attorney General - Kenneth
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2581) Shannon for Attorney General - Steve
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2577) McAuliffe for Governor - Terry
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2127) Moran for Governor - Brian
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1899) Cox for Delegate - Kirkland (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1993) Norment for Senate - Thomas
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1408) Deeds for Senate - Creigh
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=817) Republican Party of Virginia
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1869) Howell for Delegate - William
$1,000 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1719) Deeds for Governor - Creigh
$750 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1957) Orrock for Delegate - Robert (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2352) Whipple for Senate - Mary (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=839) Leadership PAC
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=906) Republican Party - Virginia House Campaign Committee
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=912) Majority Whip PAC
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2311) Cuccinelli for Senate - Kenneth
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1945) Armstrong for Delegate - Ward
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1902) Hall for Delegate - Frank
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1942) Griffith for Delegate - Morgan
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=885) Va Legislative Black Caucus
$500 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1774) Shannon for Delegate - Stephen
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1027) Reynolds for Senate - Roscoe (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1422) Pogge for Delegate - Brenda (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1112) Blevins for Senate - Harry (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Sub Comm #1)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1792) Puckett for Senate - Phillip
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1005) McEachin for Senate – Donald (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Sub Comm #1)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1368) Petersen for Senate - Chapman (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Sub Comm #1)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1203) Mathieson for Delegate - Robert
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=2333) Marshall for Delegate - Danny (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1398) Alexander for Delegate - Kenneth
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1354) Vanderhye for Delegate - Margaret
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1184) Lohr for Delegate - Matthew (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1673) Bulova for Delegate - David (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1434) Scott for Delegate - Edward (House Ag, Ches. and Nat’l Res. Committee, Ches. Sub Comm)
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1096) Lingamfelter for Delegate - Scott
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1946) Shuler for Delegate - James
$250 (http://www.vpap.org/donors/profile/money_out_details/137690?committee_id=1843) Ruff for Senate – Frank (Senate Ag, Conservation. and Nat’l Res. Committee)

[surferman]

North Carolina and Virginia are holdouts, that doesn't surprise me. I wonder how much Omega Protein contributes to the campaign funds for the Senators and Representatives from those states?

Look what Sen Ralph Northam said, very impressive that he went against the status quo.:thumbsup:

Menhaden management should be under VMRC


The VMRC has the ability to be more responsive than the General Assembly in managing the fishery in case of emergency.
By RALPH S. NORTHAM

State Sen. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, represents Virginia’s 6th District, which stretches from Norfolk and Virginia Beach north to the Eastern Shore and Mathews County.

THIS MONTH, under enormous pressure from the menhaden fishing industry and other interests, I decided to remove SB185 from further consideration during the 2010 General Assembly session.
While I believe strongly that transferring the management responsibilities for menhaden to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission is the only way to ensure sound stewardship of this species in the long run, I have been informed that this is not the year that lawmakers will allow that to happen.
The spread of misinformation pre-empted reasonable and constructive debate on an important issue. That’s often the case in Richmond.

This debate was framed as being about jobs rather than about responsible management of a public trust resource. It is crystal clear to me that transferring management authority over menhaden out of the General Assembly is good public policy. I would like to make three points that are compelling enough to warrant the eventual shift.

First, this move would drastically reduce the politicization of the decision-making process. Omega Protein, a corporation based in Houston that harvests the overwhelming majority of menhaden from Virginia waters, has given nearly $170,000 in political contributions to candidates for Virginia state office since setting up shop in the commonwealth. More than $50,000 of this came in 2009. Under state law, members of citizen boards such as VMRC are not allowed to accept these contributions, insulating them from the influence of corporate money.

Second, VMRC has the ability to be more responsive in managing the fishery in case of emergency. Under the current regime, if the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission notified Virginia that scientific evidence necessitated stricter management measures, the Assembly would have to enter a special session, at great expense to taxpayers, to implement new rules. If legislators failed to agree on a solution, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce could shut the fishery down completely. VMRC commissioners, on the other hand, meet on a monthly basis, and they are supported by a staff of experienced, expert scientists who aid them in their decision making.

Third, shifting management of menhaden to VMRC is in the long-term interest of all users of the resource. Other recreational and commercial fisheries, many of which depend on healthy menhaden stocks, support more than 13,000 jobs and generate more than $1.2 billion for Virginia’s economy each year.

To ensure the economic and environmental sustainability of all marine resource-based industries, management authority over menhaden needs to reside with the body that the General Assembly created to do that for all other species.

I understand the reluctance of the menhaden industry to submit to VMRC regulation, but I believe that having the fishery managed based on unbiased, independent science is simply a matter of good governance.

Though the transfer will not happen this year, I feel that our work on this legislation has raised the profile of this issue, and that with the continued support of the public, we ultimately will be able to convince a majority of my fellow delegates and senators that it’s the right thing to do.

State Sen. Ralph Northam

[jigfreak]

Fox just did a piece


Regularhttp://media2.myfoxdc.com//photo/2010/03/02/fishoiltisha_20100302220020_320_240.JPG
From pills to margarine to eggs, if it contains Omega-3 fatty acids, it probably comes from a small, silvery fish nobody likes to eat.

Photo Size (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/investigates-fish-oil-part-1-030210#)


FOX 5 Investigates: Fish Oil, Part 1

Updated: Wednesday, 03 Mar 2010, 4:36 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 02 Mar 2010, 10:01 PM EST

By TISHA THOMPSON/myfoxdc
Fish oil supplements. They’re supposed to be a quick and easy way to improve your health. But a FOX 5 Investigation shows you how these little pills are causing a big controversy about the future of the Chesapeake Bay.
From pills to margarine to eggs, if it contains Omega-3 fatty acids, it probably comes from a small, silvery fish nobody likes to eat.
“I must say I’ve tried and it’s not very good to eat,” says Bill Goldsboro of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Known as pogies or bunkers, Goldsboro says they’re really called menhaden and nearly everything in the Chesapeake Bay, from fish to birds to whales, depends on these oily fish as a food source. Without them, Goldsboro says the Bay’s ecosystem would collapse.
"In an ecological sense, it is the most important fish in the Bay,” said Goldsboro.
Jim Price is partial to striped bass himself. But, as president of the Chesapeake Bay Ecological Foundation, he’s spent the last decade counting menhaden inside the stomachs of striped bass. He says there are now so few menhaden left in the Bay, the striped bass are showing up with sores because they’re starving to death.

“They’re overfished in the sense there’s not enough of them to support the needs of the birds and the fish in the Chesapeake,” said Price.

With as many as a million fish swimming in the same school, menhaden are easy prey. And easy to spot from airplanes used by industrial fisherman to guide boats around the school, so they can close up a net like a purse string.

Called purse seine fishing, the fishermen then stick a vacuum into the net to suck up the entire school.

“It’s bad enough in the ocean, but when you’re doing it in the Chesapeake Bay, it’s devastating,” says Bruce Franklin, the author of “The Most Important Fish in the Sea,” a book about menhaden. “We’re at a very dangerous stage right now and the question is very, very simple. Will we stop before it’s too late?"
Nearly every state on the East Coast, including Maryland, has tried to stop this type of fishing by outlawing it. Virginia is the only state left. Its also home to a $170 million company called Omega Protein, whose entire fortune rides on the backs of these little fish.

Monty Deihl is the general manager of Omega Protein’s fish processing plant in Reedville, Virginia. He says, "Purse seine fishing is how we've got menhaden for 130 years here. It’s proven to be one of the most efficient and one of the most effective methods of catching schools of fish."

A fourth-generation menhaden fisherman, Deihl says Omega Protein brings in 70 percent of all the menhaden caught in the United States.

"The menhaden has proven to be resilient, abundant,” he says. “It’s not being overfished."

A 2006 study commissioned by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate body supported by all of the states along the Atlantic coastline, agrees.

But critics of the study say instead of focusing on how many fish are left in the Bay, the study counted all of the menhaden, from Maine to Florida, as one.

“"The whole industrial fishery is focused in the lower Chesapeake Bay and the water of the ocean just outside the Bay,” Goldsboro says. “Most certainly, we have local overfishing circumstances but we just don't have the data to document it."

Hoping to remedy that problem, ASMFC commissioned a new study, due next year.

As part of the new study, Omega Protein voluntarily capped how many fish it would take from the Bay during the study.

But environmentalists say there are now so few fish in the Bay, the company can’t even meet that cap anymore.

"No, that's not true,” says Deihl. “We don't meet the cap in the Bay because we intentionally fish out in the ocean often during the year. The fish are more abundant and heavier in oil and we prefer those fish."

But environmentalists aren’t buying it and believe more needs to be done before it’s too late.

“This is the end of the line,” says Franklin. “Eventually, the company will fish itself out of existence. But by that time, so much damage will have been done; I don’t think they’ll be able to fix it.”

[Doublerunner]

There's a lawsuit been filed regarding the Menhaden

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14501591?source=most_viewed

[DarkSkies]

Thanks DR, Finchaser sent it in as well. Maybe we'll now see some progress, maybe not. When the gov't couldn't bust Capone on criminal activities, they got him on tax evasion. At least this is a start, although I feel they will probably stall for years before anything gets settled. I hope my perceptions are wrong.



Omega Protein Sued For Pcb Contamination!
How sweet it is! While this will not put Omega out of business, any money they spend on litigation is less money for sea raping.
---------------------
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A group including a California nonprofit organization is suing fish oil manufacturers and pharmacies that sell the popular supplements over their purported toxicity.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, claims that the makers and sellers of certain supplements found to contain high levels of PCB compounds -- man-made industrial chemicals -- have failed to alert consumers as required under California's right-to-know law.
The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, one of three named plaintiffs, tested 10 fish oil supplements out of more than 100 on the market. The other plaintiffs in the case are New Jersey residents.
Defendants include the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil, Houston-based Omega Protein, as well as drug stores Rite Aid Corp and CVS Caremark Corp.
"The people buying these fish oil supplements are not being told the PCBs are there," said plaintiff's attorney David Roe.
People consume fish oil supplements for the health benefits obtained from omega-3 fatty acids, but there are currently no standards for PCB contamination in fish oil in the United States, according to Roe.
Also named as defendants are General Nutrition Corp, a subsidiary of GNC Acquisition Holdings Corp, Now Health Group Inc, Pharmavite LLC, the maker of the NatureMade brand of supplements, Solgar Inc and TwinLab Corp. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

[DarkSkies]

Here's an article that says they are. I came across it looking for an internet link to Al Ristori's 7-8-10 Conservation Watch article in the Fisherman magazine.


http://www.chesbay.org/articles/latest.asp



CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION, INC.
2008
ECOLOGICAL DEPLETION OF ATLANTIC MENHADEN
EFFECTS ON ATLANTIC COAST STRIPED BASS

The Chesapeake Bay Ecological Foundation (CBEF) and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD-DNR) have conducted cooperative striped bass studies since the early 1980s. In 2004 CBEF initiated a Predator/Prey Monitoring Program (PPMP) to determine the type of prey and age structure of Atlantic menhaden consumed by striped bass along the Atlantic coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. Funding for the PPMP was provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, MD-DNR, CBEF and East Carolina University. Over 4,000 striped bass have been examined and analyses of PPMP and MD-DNR data demonstrate that malnutrition observed in striped bass results from ecological depletion (insufficient numbers to meet nutritional needs of dependant predators) of Atlantic menhaden, their primary forage. Food habit studies of striped bass from Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake (upper Bay) show that age-0 menhaden less than 6” in total length are crucial to the diet of small striped bass (<18”) during the summer, fall and winter. Both age-0 and sub-adult menhaden (ages 1&2) are crucial to the diet of large resident striped bass (>18”) from fall through spring. Migratory striped bass over 28” in length (approximately 80% females) prey on all age classes of menhaden while in ocean waters and the upper Bay from late fall through spring.

Both sexes of young striped bass live and feed within the Chesapeake Bay system; however, prior to reaching age-4 (about 16”) most of the females migrate to coastal waters. More than 85% of striped bass (16” to 18”) that remain in the upper Bay are males and are at the size when age-0 menhaden become their primary prey. From fall through spring, just prior to reaching age-4, these 3 year olds feed heavily on age-0 menhaden and accumulate body fat. This fat is used for gonad development and assimilation during the following summer and early fall when feeding activity by age-4+ striped bass in the upper Bay is greatly reduced. (The PPMP found that although resident striped bass 4 years and older prey heavily on menhaden from fall through spring, they become opportunistic predators during summer and early fall when feeding activity is low and upper Bay water temperatures are relatively high).

Since the mid 1990s consistently poor recruitment has contributed to the ecological depletion of age-0 menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. Consequently, many striped bass now enter the summer months lacking sufficient body fat to maintain their weight and health until intensive feeding on menhaden resumes in late fall. The average weight of upper Bay age-4 striped bass caught in the Choptank River during the fall is now less than 70% of their historical weight – a level symptomatic of starvation. Weight-at-length of striped bass caught in the Choptank River increases and decreases with high and low recruitment levels of age-0 menhaden, demonstrating that striped bass in this size range are unable to maintain their weight when young menhaden are ecologically depleted. Diet analyses confirm that the number of age-0 menhaden in the stomachs of striped bass caught in the Choptank River increases when the MD-DNR Choptank juvenile menhaden index is high and decreases when it is low.

The PPMP detected that large numbers of striped bass (mostly females >28”) that historically migrated south to the coastal waters off Virginia and North Carolina (winter feeding grounds for large striped bass), migrated to the upper Bay during 2006-07 and 2007-08 and remained over the winter - a previously undocumented event. These large migratory striped bass (>28”) accounted for a significant portion of upper Bay winter gill net landings. They preyed heavily on menhaden from late fall through spring, primarily on sub-adults, indicating menhaden may now be more available in the upper Bay than on their historical winter feeding grounds along the coast. This conclusion is supported by the condition of large migratory striped bass examined from the two areas; those from the upper Bay contained about twice the amount of body fat than those from the coastal ocean. CBEF’s stomach analyses on 98 of these large migratory striped bass caught in the upper Bay during the winter of 2006-07 found that 90 contained a total of 446 menhaden: age-0s were present in approximately 20% of the 90, sub-adults in 70%, and adults in 10%. The body fat index of these 98 striped bass averaged approximately 2 on a scale of (0 to 4), compared to an average body fat index of approximately 1 for 80 migratory striped bass caught during late winter in coastal waters near the mouth of the Bay. The change in historical migration patterns is one of several indicators that the depressed coastal stock of older menhaden is ecologically depleted and no longer provides sufficient prey for large migratory striped bass. (Few menhaden older than age-4 are now present in the population even though life expectancy exceeds 10 years). The use of the upper Bay as a winter feeding ground for many large migratory striped bass (mostly females >28”) has resulted in competition with upper Bay resident striped bass (mostly males) for similar size menhaden. The additional competition for the declining numbers of menhaden, in conjunction with depressed populations of bay anchovy and blue crab, could exacerbate growth and health problems currently affecting upper Bay resident striped bass. The menhaden purse seine fishery and large striped bass compete for the declining numbers of older menhaden – depleting menhaden spawning stock and the prey supply for large striped bass. (During 2006 & 2007 menhaden purse seine landings in the Chesapeake Bay declined sharply to approximately 60% of the previous 20 year average).

After spawning in the spring, large migratory striped bass resume feeding, primarily on age-1+ menhaden, while migrating out of the Chesapeake Bay to northern coastal waters. These adult females now use most of their body fat for egg production – leaving less fat reserves for assimilation during the summer months of reduced feeding activity in New England coastal waters. In late fall they migrate south and arrive on their winter feeding grounds off Virginia and North Carolina in poor nutritional condition. (Weight-at-length of adult female migratory striped bass has been declining in recent years). They feed heavily from fall through early spring, primarily on menhaden, and accumulate body fat essential for weight maintenance and egg development. Following the decline of older menhaden, those migratory striped bass wintering in coastal ocean waters from late fall through early spring now prey heavily on bay anchovy and younger menhaden. Those migratory striped bass that enter the upper Bay prey heavily on menhaden from late fall through spring.

The ecological depletion of Atlantic menhaden has resulted in nutritionally stressed striped bass. Both resident and migratory striped bass now consume increased numbers of alternate prey that have high recreational and commercial value such as blue crab, white perch and weakfish. Cumulative data from PPMP and MD-DNR studies since 2003 show menhaden are crucial to the diet of large striped bass (>18”) in the upper Bay and (>28”) in ocean waters from fall through spring when menhaden constitute over 80% of their diet by weight.

Direct questions or comments to James Price: pres@chesbay.org

http://www.chesbay.org/images/charts1.jpg

http://www.chesbay.org/images/Landings%2085-07.jpg

http://www.chesbay.org/images/back.gif

[DarkSkies]

Omega counters that existing science shows that menhaden stocks are not overfished and that its processing plant in Reedville is a major economic engine on the Northern Neck.

Still, the company spent thousands of dollars on lobbyists and in campaign contributions in Virginia last year.
According to data collected by the Virginia Public Access Project, Omega spent more than $65,000 to hire three lobbyists between May 2008 and May 2009.

Omega also gave more than $69,000 to candidates during that same time, with the largest amount, nearly $30,000, going to Gov. Bob McDonnell's campaign, according to election data.





Here's the latest report sent in by Finchaser, thanks!
Looks like Omega can't claim that bunker is not overfished anymore.

Let's qualify that.
They are not "overfished",
but "overfishing" is occurring.

I believe the same is happening with Striped Bass. Yet, we may not have this official assessment for years. It will be interesting should that happen, to come back to these posts, and see all the astute long-time fishermen like Finchaser and others who have been saying it all along. Will it take another moratorium before people begin to see the big picture for themselves? :don't know why:




ASMFC 69th Annual Meeting Summary <A name=Menhaden>

ATLANTIC MENHADEN MANAGEMENT BOARD (November 8, 2010)
Meeting Summary
The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board reviewed two reports by the Technical Committee (TC). An error was found in the code for the 2009 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment. The mid-point (instead of the beginning of the year) numbers at age were inadvertently used for computing the predicted landings in the Atlantic menhaden model. The effect of this on the model is to apply an additional half-year of total mortality to the population. The model was rerun with the corrected code, resulting in a change of stock status. The new stock status is the stock is not overfished but overfishing is occurring. The TC will review the changes in the assessment and correct the assessment report for the Commission’s March Meeting. The TC and Multispecies TC also reported to the Board on progress made in developing alternative reference points. Both groups will continue work and have updated reports for the Board at the March meeting. Depending on the progress made by both TCs, the Board could consider the initiation of an addendum to address reference points in the spring or summer. Duncan Barnes was approved as a member of the Menhaden Advisory Panel. For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Senior Fishery Management Coordinator for Management, (703) 842-0740 or <A href="mailto:tkerns@asmfc.org">tkerns@asmfc.org.

[bababooey]

Interesting read on Omega
http://www.mondovacilando.com/something-fishy-in-reedville-va/

[finchaser]

Good read but there are more bunker now than ever in places never seen before.
Another study states the bays are dying do to fertilizer run off causing low oxygen levels
Bunker that once hugged the coast are now found in massive schools 5 to 10 miles off the beach

Then there's my favorite that bass should be harvested in greater numbers from the Chesapeake because they are eating all the blue claw crabs not from over fishing them

[hookedonbass]

I heard the low oxygen levels from the runoff were really destroying barnegat bay. Any truth to that?

[finchaser]

yes sir^^