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<\/p>\nDel. Paul Milde is concerned that a lack of a small, oily fish could be causing the collapse of the osprey population in the Chesapeake Bay, and he says the Democratic majority in the House of Delegates isn\u2019t helping matters.<\/p>\n
Milde (R-Stafford) continues to push legislative efforts to have a study of menhaden fishing done as new research suggests that declining numbers of the species, which osprey eat, could be leading to a drop in the population of the birds.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker issued a statement late last month saying inaction on scrutiny of the menhaden is a result of partisan politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI introduced legislation this year to study and give us answers about what is happening to the fish population that feeds the osprey,\u201d Milde said in the statement. \u201cBut because it\u2019s always about partisan politics, Democrats left my bill in committee without even a hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Del. Paul Milde (R-Stafford)<\/p>\n
Milde said his legislation, House Bill 2713<\/a>, and a companion budget amendment<\/a> would have provided $3 million for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission<\/a> and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science<\/a> to conduct a comprehensive, three-year study on the ecology, fishery impacts and economic significance of Atlantic menhaden. The findings would have been reported to the secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the chairmen of the state Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by Oct. 1, 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone talks about saving the Chesapeake Bay, recognizing its critical importance to our environment and economy,\u201d Milde said. \u201cVoters expect their elected leaders to collaborate for the common good of the Commonwealth. Here I am, a conservative Republican, committed to environmental protection. Why won\u2019t Democratic leadership join me in this effort?\u201d<\/p>\n The House Democratic Caucus could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n Political contributions muddy waters<\/p>\n Reedville-based Omega Protein<\/a>, which makes fish oil products, is the main beneficiary of menhaden fishing in Virginia, and it\u2019s no stranger to politics.<\/p>\n The company has given $955,783 to Virginia political campaigns since 1996, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.<\/p>\n That total includes money given to politicians on both sides of the aisle. The company, for example, has donated $38,000 to the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus over the years, and $34,500 to the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus, according to VPAP.<\/p>\n Locally, Omega Protein has given $32,843 over the years to state Sen. Richard Stuart, a Westmoreland County Republican whose 25th District includes Caroline and King George counties.<\/p>\n And this year alone, the business has given $500 to Del. Joshua Cole (D-Stafford).<\/p>\n Milde, however, said he will not accept contributions from Omega Protein.<\/p>\n New research documents decline<\/p>\n About the time that Milde issued his menhaden statement, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation put out a statement of its own, pointing to research that suggests there are fewer osprey because of a lack of menhaden.<\/p>\n The organization said a May survey<\/a> by Bryan Watts of The College of William and Mary\u2019s Center for Conservation Biology documented a 90% decline of nesting osprey on Virginia\u2019s Delmarva Peninsula.<\/p>\n The Center for Conservation Biology concluded the \u201cmost likely cause of the decline is prey availability,\u201d the foundation said.<\/p>\n It also said that the decline in nesting adult osprey adds to a recent trend of osprey chicks starving in their nests across the tidal portions of the Chesapeake Bay.<\/p>\n And it said that the U.S. Geological Survey corroborated the notion of the osprey decline in a recent letter to Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n Virginia is the only state along the East Coast that allows industrial menhaden fishing, the foundation said, and Omega Protein benefits from harvests of well more than 100 million pounds of menhaden from the Commonwealth\u2019s waters each year.<\/p>\n \u201cHad Omega Protein not consistently opposed menhaden science, Virginia would be developing better answers on ecology and fishery impacts during these challenging times,\u201d Chris Moore, Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said in the statement. \u201cNo company blocks science with the best interest of the public and the environment at heart.<\/p>\n Moore said it\u2019s time for Virginia to act.<\/p>\n \u201cVirginia must take this challenge head-on and consider opportunities to ensure enough menhaden are in state waters when osprey and other vulnerable predators need menhaden,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Two sides of the menhaden story<\/p>\n Milde thinks that some of his colleagues may support his quest for approval of a menhaden study.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people who quietly think it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d he said in an interview with the Free Press.<\/p>\n He said his father was involved with shrimp fishing in Biloxi, Mississippi, so he\u2019s sympathetic to the fishing industry.<\/p>\n However, he said, \u201cat some point, if you start running out of one kind of fish, it\u2019s time to take another look.\u201d<\/p>\n