Do bunker need to be protected?

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by Duffman

No. The bunker do not need to be protected. It’s a never ending resource that can never be depleted.

Omega Protein can trawl for the next 100 years as they are doing now and not even put a dent in the overall menhaden population.

For your sake, I hope you're being sarcastic. Read the following article:

https://virginiamercury.com/2023/05/...hesapeake-bay/

112 million lbs of menhaden a year from the Chesapeake. At maybe a half lb. per fish, that's 224 million menhaden harvested JUST from the Chesapeake. How many by catch species, including big spawning bass, die in their nets. What's the impact on the water quality from pulling that degree of nature's filter feeders from the bay. How many young bass are killed in the carnage. One company is destroying multiple stocks and is playing a significant role killing an entire ecosystem. Do bunker need protection? Any stock with a commercial presence needs protection. Cooke Inc. and Virginia politicians are killing a fishery enjoyed for generations by every coastal state north of the Chesapeake. Sitting by allowing it to happen is criminal.

Like I said in my earlier post, if Virginia is allowed to benefit from a coastal resource disproportionate to all other states, then kick North Carolina and Virginia out of the offshore winter fluke fishery in our local offshore waters even if it's in federal waters.

NMFS, the Commission and Council need to grow a set of balls and do their jobs or the entire system should be blown up and rebuilt from scratch.