Tag Archives: Omega Protein
Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources denies request for 1-mile menhaden fishing limit
The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources denied Jackson County’s request to limit menhaden fishing to at least a mile off the county’s mainland. The vote was unanimous and came after the commission listened to arguments from both sides of the issue. On March 7, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to ask the state to limit menhaden boats to 1 mile offshore. The move would have closed 22 square miles of the Sound to commercial fishing by the company Omega Protein of Moss Point. Both the Coastal Conservation Association and Omega Protein went before the CMR. In the final vote, it came down to science and concern for industry. Read the article here 19:23
Omega Protein : Conservation groups and legislators look to change menhaden regulations
With the lights of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel twinkling in the background, Barry Knight looked at a room full of supporters and realized he no longer was alone. For nearly a decade, the Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates has been trying to wrestle the menhaden fishing industry from the grasp of the state’s General Assembly. An environmentally conscious angler and a rural Virginia Beach pig farmer, he has wondered for years why menhaden are the only species in Virginia waters that are not controlled by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Read the article here 15:31
Dead menhaden wash up on Eastern Shore after fish spill from Omega Protein boat
Last Wednesday, said Omega spokesman Ben Landry, the John Dempster was pulling in hundreds of thousands of menhaden from the bay when the net apparently ripped on some bottom debris and dumped about 75,000 dead fish into the water. It’s an unfortunate accident that occurs maybe two or three times a year, he said. Omega notified the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, he said. On Friday, he said, they got reports that the wave of dead menhaden would strike land, probably around Smith Beach and Cherrystone Inlet. Read the rest here 21:47
Omega extends the Olive Branch – Meeting could lead to truce over menhaden
Decades of animosity don’t disappear overnight. But a conversation is a good place to start. Officials from Omega Protein met with recreational charter captains Tuesday night to discuss the conflict between two groups that depend on the same waters to earn a living. Reedville-based Omega is the East Coast’s only menhaden reduction fishery. Recreational anglers often have blamed the company for harming certain fisheries. Omega reduces the small, oily fish to produce Omega 3 fish oil supplements and pet food. Read the rest here 10:33
Omega Protein Vessel, Barataria Bay, Given New Purpose as Artificial Reef in Gulf of Mexico
The 
is the latest Omega Protein vessel to be sunk for the purpose of creating a new reef, as the company is a regular ecological collaborator with the Mississippi DMR. In November 2009, Omega Protein sunk another one of its retired long-time fishing vessels, the Great Wicomico, off the coast of Mississippi for a separate reef project. A third Omega Protein vessel, the von Rosenberg, was sunk in May 2000. Read the rest here 17:08
Dead menhaden reported in Chesapeake Bay leads to Inquisition by Sport Fishers, explanation by VRMC
Experts still aren’t sure what killed thousands of dead menhaden that local fishermen reported floating in a long line near the northern stretch of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel over the weekend. And they say they might never know. Read more here Social media posts from area fishermen indicate a commercial boat from Omega Protein was in the area at the time. Read the comments here! 19:15
Commercial vessel may be tied to dead menhaden
A vessel with the fish-processing company Omega Protein caught more menhaden than it could carry and rolled about 30,000 of the small, silvery fish back into the ocean off the eastern side of the Eastern Shore, said Rob O’Reilly, chief of fisheries management for the commission. Read more here 08:26
