A new bill drafted by a Virginia state senator would have the state “renounce and withdraw” from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Compact.
The ASMFC Compact is a 1942 interstate agreement approved by Congress that established the commission to coordinate the management of shared migratory fishery resources among the 15 Atlantic coastal states.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R.-Va., in the Virginia General Assembly in January, was sparked in part by ASMFC approval in October 2025 of a 20% reduction in the 2026 Atlantic menhaden coastwide quota, lowering it from 233,550 to 186,840 metric tons. The decision followed a 2025 menhaden stock assessment update showing a 37% decline in menhaden biomass compared to previous models.
ASMFC also initiated a new management process specifically to address the Chesapeake Bay. This process will consider options, including one that would reduce the bay’s reduction fishery by up to 50%, which will be reviewed in February 2026.
Senate Bill No. 414 states “that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) shall, on or after February 1, 2027, take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the Commonwealth’s renunciation of and withdrawal from the ASMFC . . . and shall complete such actions no later than July 1, 2027.”
The bill further states that VMRC shall establish a Menhaden Management Advisory Committee to provide guidance to VMRC on the sustainable management of the menhaden resource and the harvest of the bait and reduction fisheries in the waters of Virginia, including the Chesapeake Bay.
The committee shall consist of no more than 12 non-legislative citizen members who are residents of the state with knowledge of the menhaden resource, to be appointed by the VMRC commissioner. The bill calls for one representative from the state’s reduction fishery, one from a labor organization involved in the menhaden fishery, one from the menhaden bait fishery, one recreational angler, one member of a Virginia-based conservation organization, and one representative of the sport-fishing industry.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections for further study.
