THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410300148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Although the concept is sound, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission did the right thing Tuesday in refusing to fund a $59,000 study of the importance of the lowly menhaden as forage for Chesapeake Bay gamefish.
The menhaden is a small, oily fish found in abundance throughout the Bay. From two plants in Reedville, in the Northern Neck, it is processed into oil for manufacturing and into meal for livestock food.
The menhaden has no recreational value other than being a ready dinner for every game fish in the Bay, from croaker to cobia and from striped bass to spot. But that in itself makes it tremendously valuable to recreational fishing.
Is there a correlation between the menhaden catch and the decline of Chesapeake Bay fish stocks? That's what the study might have helped answer.
For the past eight years, an average of almost 550 million pounds of menhaden have been removed from the Chesapeake each year. You don't have to be a nuclear scientist to know that this could affect other Bay finfish.
The request for the study came from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing License Advisory Board, a citizens panel created to advise the VMRC on spending the $2 million a year generated by the 2-year-old license.
The request originated with the respected Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a private organization with the announced goal of improving the overall health of the Bay, including its fish and shellfish.
The foundation has done some great work. But it stubbed its toe on this one by asking the voting commissioners to consider a too-quick decision and by requesting that no additional information be accepted. In other words, it gave the impression that it wanted the commission to move before representatives of the state's menhaden industry had a chance to organize any opposition.
While this may or may not have been the case, it was what the commissioners heard and read. And it threw up a red flag with ``bias'' written all over it in that the study, sought by recreational fishermen, would be paid for by recreational fishermen and therefore might not be objective.
Additionally, the advisory board requested that the study be conducted by two scientists working in New York state, although both had Chesapeake Bay backgrounds.
The commissioners didn't like that, either, even though Dr. Dennis Taylor of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science testified Tuesday that his agency did not have the manpower, at this juncture, to do the job. On the surface, VIMS would seem the logical choice for the study.
For whatever reason, it is obvious that the industry does not want the study done, now or ever. But that's like the ostrich sticking its head in a hole to hide. The study needs to be done, and it needs the backing of the industry and the VMRC. The information could be a vital tool in any overall management plan for the Bay.
The burden for finding a way to get the study done must rest with the VMRC.
The commissioners understand that current management plans for the Bay are not working very well because they have aimed only at managing crises.
Recreational fishermen are willing to spend at least $59,000 for this study. Perhaps the commission can persuade the menhaden industry to contribute financially. Perhaps it can get special funding from the General Assembly. Perhaps it can be expanded into a wonderfully valuable study of just how all Bay resources interact.
Beyond that, it's time for the commission to tell the menhaden industry that it will have to play a more active role in the overall management of the Bay, because it is the Bay's largest harvester of publicly owned natural resources.
The bottom line is that the study begs to be done. But it begs to be done right and with everyone participating. by CNB