The Red Knot & Menhaden: Who Knew?

A blog is a terrible thing to waste, except when said blogger is about the Commonwealth's business.

Clearly, the most contentious issues, as judged by the number of lobbyists involved, were about this bird, and this oily, bony fish.

Suffice it to say that I learned more than I ever thought there was to know about these two species. The issue came before me as a member of the Chesapeake subcommittee of the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. I voted for restrictions on the fishing of the menhaden, which is endangered and a source of food for many sport fishes. Those restrictions, however, were at a level higher than the catch for each of the past five years. Thus, there was little economic impact to the local fishing industry. I thought this was a reasonable compromise.

The red knot, a bird that has the longest migration of any known bird (from Tierra del Fuego to the Artic Circle), stops by the Chesapeake Bay on its way. They feed on horseshoe crabs. So should we limit the fishing of those crabs, which are used for bait, to ensure a food supply for the red knot? Stay tuned. Im still listening to the arguments.