It seems the simple employment of human fishing equipment is even more effective than the ol’ shooting fish in a barrel. Last weekend, thousands of dead menhaden — a fish most commonly “harvested” for its omega oils or crab bait — were found floating in the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia, near the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. According to a report by WAVY.com, fisherman James Ryan saw the tide carrying in the fish, prompting him to capture the the scene.
Both Ryan and fellow Bay fisherman took to social media and indicated that they had seen a commercial boat (sailing for Omega Protein) in the area. Company spokesman responded that their vessel could not have been seen as they do not have operations on weekends or holidays.
In a report by Daily Press, environmentalist cite a couple causes for the dead fish: overfishing where commercial fishermen will haul in more than they are able to carry and dump the excess back into the waters; and water quality, especially in “dead zones,” which are becoming increasingly common in the Bay. However, the state’s Department of Environment Quality claimed that water samples did not lead them to believe there was anything irregular about the water. They added that there were also no signs of fish disease.
It should be noted that these sorts of fish spills are in fact not illegal in Virginia, and the reporting of them not mandatory.
