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A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 28.2 a section numbered
28.2-1102.1
, relating to Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Atlantic Menhaden Research Fund established; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 28.2 a section numbered
28.2-1102.1
as follows:
§
28.2-1102.1
. Atlantic
M
enhaden
R
esearch
F
und
;
report.
A.
There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the At
lantic Menhaden Research
Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes
established
in subsection B
. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by
the Dean
and
Director
of the Institute
.
B.
1.
The
Institute, in collaboration
with the Commission, shall utilize moneys from the Fund
to produce
research
relating to Atlantic menhaden
necessary to inform a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful harvest limit for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay
and an annual report summarizing such research. Such
research and
report shall
also
be
produced
in collaboration
with
relevant stakeholders
,
including recreational anglers, the reduction and bait fishery sectors, and nongover
nmental organizations.
2. The report
shall address (i) the seasonal abundance of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay
;
(ii) the movement rates of Atlantic menhaden between the
coast of the
Atlantic
Ocean
and the Chesapeake Bay
;
(iii) the impacts of predator demand
,
such as striped bass and osprey
, and predator consumption of Atlantic me
nhaden on the Atlantic menhaden population; (iv) the spatial and temporal patterns of the Atlantic menhaden
commercial fishing efforts in the Chesapeake Bay; and (v) the possibility of localized depletion of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.
3. The Menhaden Management Advisory Committee
established pursuant to §
28.2-208.2
, in consultation with the
Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, shall contribute analysis and recommendations to the report
relating to the following potential workforce impacts:
(i) projected workforce impacts from
changes to the
total
allowable catch of Atlantic menhaden in the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay and (ii) recommendations for retraining and supporting workers
impacted by such changes.
4. The Institute shall
annually
rep
ort its progress, findings, recommendations, and a
proposal
for expenditures and disbursements from the Fund for the following year to the Chairs of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agricul
ture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, the Ecological Reference Point Work
G
roup of the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Menhaden Management Advisory Committee
no later than October 1
of each year beginning in 2027
.
2. That the Virginia Institute of Marine Science may utilize recommendations from (i) the Virginia Institute of Marine Science report to the General Assembly entitled Atlantic Menhaden Research Planning submitted pursuant to Chapter 284 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023 or (ii) the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) research roadmap for Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay in preparing the annual report mandated pursuant to §
28.2-1102.1
of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act.