VA has allowed too long for this rampage of menhaden to go on in Chesapeake Bay. The result has been pathetic. It has not only decreased the menhaden population but all species of marine animal and fish population in the Bay, as menhaden is the most important natural food source for so many of them, most importantly striped bass.

More importantly, menhaden helps to maintain the water quality of the bay by eating algae ( sucking the oxygen out of the water) and filtering the water, too. Algae boom that happens in most Chesapeake Bay tributaries during the summer and kills newly hatched stripe bass fingerlings.

The most important fishery after the decline of Atlantic cod, undoubtly is striped bass. Chesapeak Bay and its tributaries are the most important spawning grounds of this migrating specie; about 70% of entire striped bass stock spawning historically. It has reduced the striper population, especially in mid Atlantic states. The recent emergency regulation of limiting striped bass catch in entire eastern states is the proof of that. Therefore, this is a much bigger matter not only for VA, but all other states.