Some Fishy Legislation Sparks Retaliation

Virginia Del. Albert Pollard Jr., (D-Lancaster) said he intends to file a bill that would charge a $1 tax to anyone who boards the Virginia Railway Express from Manassas and Manassas Park.

Why?

The bill is in retaliation against Del. Jackson Miller (R-Manassas), who introduced a bill Wednesday that Pollard said would negatively impact his constituents.

The bill's subject?  Fish.

Miller’s Virginia House Bill 1913 prohibits the catching of menhaden fish with purse nets in the Rappahannock River and its tributaries.

But menhaden fishing is a big industry for blue-collar workers in Pollard's district, which covers parts of Caroline County, and King George, Lancaster, Northcumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland. "Miller lives closer to Delaware than he does to my district,” Pollard said.

Miller said he is doing just the opposite, saying the bill would “help sports fishing and eco-tourism” in the region. In fact, he referred to the bill as a “jobs bill.”

Miller said that local sports fisherman in the Rappahannock region have contacted him concerned about the threat of factory fishing to the menhaden species in the region. He said his fear is if the factory fishing in the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay continues to be unregulated the result would be the “collapse of the menhaden fish species.” Miller also said “factory fishing has never been sustainable due to unregulated fishing.”

Miller said Virginia is the only state that does not regulate factory fishing, and menhaden is also the only species that the Virginia General Assembly regulates and studies. All other species are studied and regulated by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Miller said he is not anti-commercial fishing, but legislators have no data to help determine the impact factory fishing has on the two waterways.

Therefore, if it continues to go on unregulated, Miller said, not only will the local sports fisherman be jobless, but so will the employees at Omega Protein—the very company Miller said Pollard has in his best interest.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project website, Omega Protein has made some small donations to Pollard’s political campaign.  

Miller criticized Pollard for playing “political theatrics” with his proposed bill that would result in a $1 fair increase for people who board VRE in Manassas and Manassas Park,  impacting the thousands of local residents who board VRE every week for their commute north to work.

“I am not trying to be vindictive, I am trying to protect a resource and jobs in the region,” Miller said.

Delegates are limited to only 15 pieces of legislation this session. Pollard said he is stumped as to why Miller wants to use one of his limited number of bills to create a law that hurt those who rely on menhaden fishing.

“He (Miller) has the highest foreclosure rate and the worst traffic in the nation. So, since it was so important to volunteer one of his bills for menhaden fishing I decided his constituents will be happy to step up to the plate,” Pollard said.

The menhaden fish is a good source of Omega-3 fish oil, which is used to make fish oil vitamins. The fish is also used for bait all over the East Coast. The latest statistics show that the menhaden fish population is sound and overfishing is not occurring.

“And that’s the best science in America,” Pollard said.

Pollard bill was introduced Tuesday and is now House Bill number 2418.