Mystery of disappearing ospreys might have controversial explanation.

A new study suggests osprey chicks are starving in parts of the Chesapeake Bay because of a lack of menhaden, a primary source of food but also a major industry.

*Environmentalists have seized on the report to support their fight against the menhaden-harvesting industry in Virginia, which is pitted in a long-running battle to hold off regulatory limits. Sport fishermen are allied with the environmentalists, arguing that industrial harvesting has depleted the menhaden supply and harmed other species of birds and fish that feed on it, such as striped bass.

With the osprey findings — that’s a big wake-up call,” said Steve Atkinson of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association. “It clearly shows there’s an ecosystem impact.”

The company at the center of the battle is Omega Protein, which operates out of Reedville on Virginia’s Northern Neck. It’s a waterman town, named after a menhaden fisherman named Capt. Elijah Reed who came down from New England in the 1870s. Boats run in and out of Reedville bringing menhaden to a processing plant that grinds the fish into meal and oil — partly to feed farm-raised fish in Canada.'>>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/22/chesapeake-bay-osprey-menhaden-virginia/?