Reedville, Virginia, U.S.A.-based Omega Protein – the largest harvester of Atlantic menhaden in the U.S. – said a recent fish release incident is a rare event that has since been cleaned up.
The fish release incident garnered media attention in Virginia after dead menhaden washed up on local beaches. The Shore Daily News reported on the fish spill soon after it happened, and the Virginia-Pilot reported on closed beaches in the area resulting from the release, which occurred Monday, 25 July.
Omega Protein Director of Public Affairs Ben Landry told SeafoodSource the incident is an isolated one, and that by the evening of 26 July, 95 percent of the spilled fish had been cleaned up, and that the company continued to monitor the beach for the rest of the week.
“I got an email this morning saying the beach is clean,” Landry said on Friday, 29 July.
The reason for the spill, according to a statement released by Omega Protein, was a rare interaction between a school of red drum and the school of menhaden. Typically the company’s spotters – which operate out of aircraft – will direct vessels away from unwanted schools of fish. However, this time, a school of red drum was apparently underneath a school of menhaden.
When the vessel captain spotted that it was taking in red drum, he immediately ordered the crew to release the fish.
“The crew observed that many fish swam away, but the captain acknowledged that many fish likely died during the incident,” Omega Protein said.
According to the company, it has no record of an incident of this type occurring in the recent past.
“Our captain and crew, in deciding to immediately open their nets and release both the red drum and menhaden, were following company policy adopted out of respect for the species, and our commitment to their conservation and protection,” Omega Protein said.
According to Landry, the vast majority of Omega Protein’s operations are successful.
“We’re going to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 25,000 sets this year, and this is one thing that might occur three or four times,” he said. “Not to the degree with the red drum, but a net tear, or a fish spill, or some scenario where fish are floating in the water after our set. It’s a pretty rare event.”
Despite the rarity of the event, it gained enough attention that prominent Virginia politicians commented on it.
“I’m concerned. The VMRC is looking into it, to make sure they are cleaned up appropriately, but also spending some time making sure that we are talking to and listening to the various interested parties. I think there are some real concerns here,” Virginia Governor Youngkin said in an interview with 103.3 FM WESR. “I think there’s a great chance to engage everyone and see if we can bring a better outcome to folks. The last thing we want is to have anything bad happen to the bay. That’s job number one, to be great stewards of the bay. We are digging in with folks on all sides of this issue to make sure that we understand it and to continue to make being great stewards of the bay our top priority.”
Landry said that the company has taken full responsibility, and that the company immediately notified all relevant authorities.
“We took responsibility for the spill, paid for the clean up, and we’re working with regulators to keep them informed of what happened and the cleanup process,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Omega Protein
