The Virginia Marine Resources Commission agreed Tuesday to draft a memorandum of understanding that restricts some commercial menhaden fishing for Cooke-owned Omega Protein and others in Virginia to mitigate harmful impacts of fish spills on the public.
The Virginia menhaden fishery has reported an average of four spills per year between 2018 and 2021. Earlier this year, a stretch of beach in the state of Virginia was closed after dead fish accidentally caught by Cooke-owned Omega Protein's harvesting partner began washing ashore.
