Do bunker need to be protected?

[Chrisper4694]

This week we had Paul Eidman from the Menhaden Defenders on to talk about how important the bunker are for our striper fishery. Before nayone gets all bent out of shape, he was not anti commercial fishing in any way but very specifically concerned with the technology used to capture massive amounts of the bunker so easily.

What do you guys think?

Episode available on youtube and spotify:

Youtube-
https://youtu.be/Tuzzbxo8qSQ?si=VLtoWbXV7nzyZfsB

Spotify-
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zxzeiWqUDgC86OAUbi5DG?si=uKp6bHh-TUSpk2TjZSjyZw

[Gerry Zagorski]

There is one company Omega that is Canadian owned but based in VA and are allowed to solely exploit what is a public resource? Since they practically wiped out the Chesapeake Bunker, they come up here and fish off our 3 mile line... Why would anyone have an issue with that? :rolleyes:

I don't have an issue with their methods, if they can find a way to get it done faster and cheaper they should be allowed to.. They should not however be allowed to exploit the entire resource and need to be put in check...

[wyldbillnj]

I think their take should be put in check and regulated. Are they unregulated as of right now??

[hammer4reel]

I think their take should be put in check and regulated. Are they unregulated as of right now??

They just pay the fines , and could care less about the regs .

They are required to stay outside 3 miles here .
The amount of times I have seen them well inshore if that in long branch and Monmouth beach is ridiculous .

They just end up hauling outside the fence

[NJ219bands]

I caught and released 3 bunker in the Manasquan Beach surf today.

[AndyS]

Need to be protected from overfishing, those companies know no boundaries.

[Chrisper4694]

There is one company Omega that is Canadian owned but based in VA and are allowed to solely exploit what is a public resource? Since they practically wiped out the Chesapeake Bunker, they come up here and fish off our 3 mile line... Why would anyone have an issue with that? :rolleyes:

I don't have an issue with their methods, if they can find a way to get it done faster and cheaper they should be allowed to.. They should not however be allowed to exploit the entire resource and need to be put in check...

Hard to argue with such copious amounts of common sense, but the people in charge always seem to do it anyway haha

[bunker dunker]

like all the rest,money talks and we got scr#%^%#

[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.

[hammer4reel]

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.

Tell that to the Chesapeake area fisherman who had the greatest striper fishery imaginable from October thru April .

Those boats hit our area in the height of the spring striper ocean bite .
Miles of bass were gone in 1 day .

.

[Broad Bill]

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/2023/05/23/the-battle-for-menhaden-corporate-greed-threatens-the-chesapeake-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.

[Broad Bill]

Got this email today from an activist group called Menhaden Defenders to sign a petition protecting Menhaden from illicit netting. Again I'm sure they're referring to our nemesis from Cooke Inc. / Omega Protein who are raping the ocean and Chesapeake Bay and making this fishery there own personal lottery ticket. Petition looks legit, link to sign is as follows:

https://www.menhadendefenders.org/take-action#petition

The email I received said the following:

As we celebrate this season of gratitude, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for your support in protecting the NY/NJ Bight's vital ecosystem. Your signature on our petition demonstrates your commitment to preserving these waters for future generations.

The industrial menhaden fishing fleet has made over ten documented incursions into the NY/NJ Bight since May 2024, stripping our waters of menhaden, a critical food source for gamefish, seabirds, and marine mammals and depriving local fishermen who depend on menhaden for their livelihoods and culture.


These industrial-scale operations remove hundreds of millions of menhaden annually, threatening the delicate balance of our marine ecosystem.

This Giving Tuesday, you can double your impact. To get the attention of the U.S. Commerce Secretary and enact emergency regulations, we need more voices. Please help by:

Sharing the petition link with 3 friends or family members
Posting the petition on your social media
Making a tax-deductible donation to support our continued advocacy
Forwarding this email to others who care about our oceans
Your support this giving season helps ensure that future generations can be thankful for healthy, abundant coastal waters.

With gratitude this holiday season,

By signing and/or sharing the petition, you agree to Menhaden Defenders' terms and conditions and privacy policy. Your information will not be sold or shared with third parties.

You received this email because you opted in via our website or a previous campaign, or because you signed the aforementioned petition. To unsubscribe from these emails, click "unsubscribe from these emails" below.

Menhaden Defenders is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

We all talk about taking action, here's a chance for everyone to actually do just that by simply clicking on the link and signing the petition. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't but we all know the results of doing nothing. In answering the question at the bottom of the petition asking "Why do you care about Menhaden", it would be a great opportunity to mention the concerns we're been discussing on the site of late about the environmental impacts on the Chesapeake and consequential effects it's having on the striped bass and other fisheries and historically low recruitment levels. I'd add the fact that netting by one conglomerate is potentially costing us an entire fishery that's been around for centuries and costing coastal states hundreds of millions in economic benefits not to mention the benefits recreational anglers will lose if this stock doesn't recover and is lost to future generations. No one corporation should reserve the right and Virginia should not have the sole power of depriving all other states making up the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Regions from enjoying and sharing in the benefits of a pubic resource while contributing to the destruction of one of the greatest ecosystems on the eastern seaboard.

[Broad Bill]

Just curious how many members have taken the two minutes to sign this petition and if not why not?

[Duffman]

Just curious how many members have taken the two minutes to sign this petition and if not why not?

And the answer to that will be ZERO.

The answer to “why” can vary greatly. Some may feel a petition is useless and will accomplish nothing. Others just won’t take the time and could care less.

And this, for me at least, is the main message board is a sponser advertising section. Posts like yours get lost and unread within hours and buried under countless striper reports.

[Broad Bill]

I agree whole heartedly. When the bass fishery essentially gets shut down or any recreational regulations furthered tightened in any fishery, remember this thread. The problem with the recreational sector is they're the first to complain and last to take any action.

[hammer4reel]

I agree whole heartedly. When the bass fishery essentially gets shut down or any recreational regulations furthered tightened in any fishery, remember this thread. The problem with the recreational sector is they're the first to complain and last to take any action.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

[bunker dunker]

i disagree,i think there has been loads of rec peeps taking up the fight.all the way to the capital.its just that we can't pocket line the "elected officials"as the big company's can.it been this way for a long long time.i'm praying now that we
have a new party in charge that some of this will change.more common sense and less dollar & cents.

[Broad Bill]

Completely disagree. Dave asked for I believe it was $5k on this site to fund a lobbyist and couldn't raise close to that amount. $5k!!!!!!!!!!! Whose gone to the Hill representing the recreational fishing community because I'm not aware anyone has. When Trump had his first term, we had the same hope. With everything going on in this world, there's zero chance the incoming Administration on its own will prioritize the rights of recreational fishermen and small businesses involved in the industry. If that's what you're hoping, you're setting yourself up for major disappointment.

The only thing that will change this insanity is a lawsuit on behalf of the recreational sector that requires leadership and funding. In the absence of that, saltwater stocks will become vanishing resources and the recreational anglers proportionate share will continue to decrease over the years until it no longer exists. It's that simple and there's nothing that's going to change it unless as I said the recreational community grows a set of balls and initiates a lawsuit against the federal government.

[Chrisper4694]

Yes the petition is legit.... will it help? Idk... i tend to be pretty pessimistic in those regards