An opinion published Feb. 11 in the Bay Journal argues that debate over Chesapeake Bay menhaden management is overlooking a key issue: existing Virginia law.

In the piece, Tanya O’Connor of Cape Charles contends that Virginia Code, section 28.2-204.1, requires the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to evaluate specific factors before authorizing industrial menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay. Those factors include the “abundance of the resource” in the Bay and the “impact on species and fisheries” that depend on menhaden.

O’Connor stated in the piece that those requirements are not discretionary but mandatory legal conditions that must be satisfied before permits are issued.

The opinion comes amid renewed attention on Bay menhaden, including newly approved federal funding for a Chesapeake Bay-specific study, a Virginia bill proposing similar research, and ongoing debate over the Bay harvest cap. According to the piece, the absence of Bay-specific data is central to the issue. O’Connor questions whether reliance on Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission coastwide data- which covers waters from Maine to Florida- can meet the statutory requirement to evaluate abundance and ecosystem impacts specifically within the Chesapeake Bay.

Without Bay-specific science, she argues, those legal standards cannot be meaningfully met, and industrial harvest in the Bay should pause until compliance is demonstrated. “The law does not allow authorization first and science later,” the article stated.

The piece also noted that a petition for rulemaking has been filed seeking a temporary moratorium on industrial menhaden fishing in the Bay until VMRC demonstrates compliance with state law. The petition is currently posted on Virginia’s Regulatory Town Hall website, with public comments open through Feb. 17.