A recent announcement that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Menhaden Management Board has postponed a decision to place further restrictions on Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery inside Chesapeake Bay means Ocean Harvesters of Reedville, Virginia, will begin fishing full throttle in June.

This will be the first season Omega Protein, the last large reduction fishery left on the United States East Coast, will have to abide by the 2026 ASMFC 20 percent coast-wide menhaden quota reduction approved by the commission in October 2025.

The reduction will not, however, impact Omega’s 51,000 metric ton quota that is the current allowable harvest quota from Chesapeake Bay waters. The ASMFC menhaden management board was considering time and area closers of Virginia’s menhaden reduction fishery in Chesapeake Bay “to be protective of piscivorous birds and fish during critical points of their life cycles.”

There was also concern that the reduction fishery was capturing forage fish before they moved through the bay up into Maryland waters. “The menhaden management board is going to conduct more studies on this,” says Ben Landry, Omega Proteins’ director of public affairs.  “It is pretty clear to us though that we are not catching all the fish before they get to Maryland.  When we are catching menhaden at the same time Maryland pound netters are catching plenty of fish, it is a good indication that we are not catching all the fish before they get to Maryland waters,” says Landry.

The 20 percent catch reduction is not going to force lay-offs or a reduction in the working fleet, says Landry. Ocean Harvesters is the firm that contracts to catch the fish for Omega Protein, will work six fishing boat (steamers) and two run boats, the same numbers as last year. Fish steamers will carry full 15-men crews and there will be no shore job lay-offs.  A “run boat” is a boat used to off-load fish from a fish steamer while out on the fishing grounds. The run boat carries a load back to the Reedville processing plant. This allows crews on the fish steamers to continue to fish.

“The mandated catch reduction is possibly going to reduce over-time wages for shore workers and likely cut into pay checks of fishermen who work a pay on catch bases,” says Landry.

“It looks like we will be able to fish this year with the same size fleet and crews as last year; but if we have anymore restrictions or quota cuts down the road there will have to be changes,” he says.

Ocean Harvesters’ fish spotters will start searching for menhaden schools near the end of May and, providing fish are spotted, fishing starts in June the week after Memorial Day.