
Fishermen take anti-Canada stance in bid to block Cooke sourcing menhaden
Group asks Trump for Executive Order against purse seine boats linked to salmon farmer
A sport fishing group in the United States has launched a xenophobic campaign to stop Canadian salmon farmer Cooke Aquaculture from catching forage fish in the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Waters.
The Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association (VSSA) is hoping to capitalise on President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach and his apparent trade grievances with Canada by asking him and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to sign an Executive Order banning a menhaden fishing operation that supplies Omega Protein, a US company owned by Cooke.
The request came after Trump used his Truth Social platform to post an incendiary VSSA video urging the US to “kick Canada out” of the area.

“We are dedicated to advocating for a healthy saltwater fishery and responsible management of our marine resources,” the VSSA states on its website.
“Our position on menhaden is that the massive menhaden reduction industry should be moved out of the bay until science can show it is not causing harm.
“Studies show that forage fish are more economically valuable when left in the water. Foreign companies profit off of industrial fishing for US forage fish (aka bait fish) undermining American businesses and workers. By taking bold action to end industrial scale fishing for vulnerable bait fish, America can harness the full economic potential of our fisheries, create jobs, and secure a sustainable future for America’s fishing industry and coastal communities.
“We continue to support the much smaller (American) menhaden bait industry, which helps crabbers and recreational anglers.”
VSSA also calls on politicians to stop taking donations from “this Candian-owned company”.
51,000 tonnes
“What do you think would happen if we didn’t have 51,000 metric tons of menhaden removed from the Bay every year, to the benefit of the Canadians,” asks VSSA chairman Steve Atkinson in the video.
“Thse fish are called the most important fish in the sea, and there’s a reason they’re called that. This is a fish that feeds all the other fish – strikefast, bluefish, trout, cobia, red drum, mammals – dolphins, porpoise, whales – as well as seabirds.”
Phil Zalesak, president of the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organisation, appears on the video wearing a red cap with the words “Make America Fish Again” on the front, similar to Trump’s trademark MAGA cap.
Zalesak said two-thirds of the allowable catch of menhaden was being removed by Cooke from the entrance of the Bay and the Chesapeake Bay itself, “and it’s a disaster”.
Blamed for declines
Fishermen in the video blame the menhaden fishery for the decline of stocks of fish such as striped bass, while Michael Frenette, a licensed fishing guide operating from Venice, Louisiana, complains about the menhaden fleet’s attitude.
“It’s very obvious that somewhere down the way, the menhaden fleet decided not to respect the people around them, and that’s where out problem is,” said Frenette. “You almost feel when you’re working around them that you’re their land, and they’re going to let you know when it’s time to get out of it. But I’ve had enough, and I’m speaking up for thousands of communities and livelihoods that are just like mine and my family’s, and we’ve had enough of it.
“And I’m tired of someone who is not from here, and doesn’t the blood from where I come from, telling me I’m nothing, and I’m not big enough to have a voice against these guys – it’s bullshit.”
US-based company
Cooke bought fishing and processing company Omega Protein for $500 million in 2017, in what was then the largest acquisition in Canadian company’s history. Omega then transferred its boats to another company, Ocean Harvesters, then sold Ocean Harvesters to a US-owned third company, Ocean Fleet Services, to comply with ownership rules for fishing vessels.
The Chesapeake Bay area is part of the US Atlantic menhaden purse seine fishery certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. Omega Protein, based in Reedville, Virginia, is one of two of the MSC clients for the fishery, along with Lund’s Fisheries, Inc., of Cape May, New Jersey. In the US exclusive economic zone, the fishery extends from Maine to Florida.
According to the fishery’s certificate of conformity, it has been found to be a well-managed and sustainable fishery meeting the requirements of the MSC Fisheries Standard Version 2.0.
Menhaden caught by Omega's fleet are used, among other things, as an ingredient for salmon feed at Cooke's fish farms.