If proposed Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 414 is approved for the State of Virginia to “renounce and redraw” from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) compact, it would result in considerable loss of federal grant funds and increased cost to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), states a “fiscal impact statement” by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget.
SB414, currently under study in the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, was introduced in January 2026 by R-25th District Richard H. Stuart, who drafted the bill to have the State of Virginia withdraw from ASMFC. This bill supports the state’s reduction of the menhaden fishery, which is composed of the Reedville, Va., based Omega Protein and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters that purse seine for Atlantic menhaden in Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
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 harvest of the bait and reduction fisheries in the waters of Virginia, including the Chesapeake Bay.
The bill was sparked in part by ASMFC approval in Oct. 2025 of a 20 percent reduction in the 2026 Atlantic menhaden coast-wide quota, lowering it from 233,550 to 186,840 metric tons. The decision followed a 2025 menhaden stock assessment update showing a 37 percent decline in menhaden biomass compared to previous models. Omega Protein argued that the reduction in the harvest quota was not warranted because the stock assessment also noted that menhaden were not being overfished.
The impact statement reports that Virginia’s estimated loss in federal grant funds would be $842,866 in the FY 2028 budget and slightly higher amounts in the “out years.”
VMRC uses these funds to support marine fisheries enforcement and data collection activities, and the funds are conditioned upon the state remaining a member of ASMFC. If VMRC were to continue to provide these services at the current level, an estimated $809,230 of state funds would be required to supplant the federal funds in the FY 2028 budget. The impact study also shows slightly higher amounts annually required through FY 2031.
The report states, VMRC estimates that it would require additional general fund support for marine police activities, three positions, travel, contractual clerical support, supplies, and equipment that are currently federally funded.
Specifically, VMRC would lose a Virginia Enforcement of Atlantic States Marine Fisheries grant from NOAA under the U.S. Department of Commerce, a grant the state has held since 2001. According to VMRC, the agency currently has a grant from NOAA for a project period of Oct. 1, 2025, to Nov. 30, 2029, with the first year amounting to $340,748 and a four-year total of $1,445,748.
The agency is also in the process of signing grants to receive Access Point Angler Intercept Survey and For-Hire Telephone Survey grants for a period of Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2026, which is anticipated to be at $478,917. With these funds, VMRC performs data collection and related services in support of the Federal Marine Recreation Information Programs.
These funds have in the past funded three positions and contractual employees for field work. According to VMRC, if these funds are lost, the agency will need state funds for two Natural Resource Specialists II positions and one National Resource Specialist IV position for an ongoing general fund cost of $268,414. VMRC also anticipates needing an additional $176,867 in state general fund resources for staff travel to sampling sites and meetings, contractual clerical support, and field and office supplies and equipment associated with data collection and fisheries monitoring, all currently funded through federal grants.
