After years of effort, Chesapeake Bay-specific menhaden population study gets funding

Virginia lawmakers have allocated $2 million over two years to fund a state study on the menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay, led by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The study aims to inform conservation standards and catch limits for the fish, which sustain species like striped bass and osprey, amid concerns from conservation groups and opposition from Ocean Harvesters, the only Bay-based reduction fishery.