ANNAPOLIS — A peer-reviewed study published this week in Frontiers in Marine Science links starving osprey chicks in the Chesapeake Bay to concerns about Atlantic menhaden populations.
Researchers from the College of William & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Maryland National-Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center analyzed data from the 2024 nesting season. They found that reduced availability of menhaden is likely the primary driver of poor osprey reproduction in saltier parts of the Bay.
Osprey in many parts of the region are reproducing at rates below what is needed to sustain the population. While several factors influence osprey productivity, the study points to menhaden as a critical food source that is becoming less available.
Virginia is the only state along the Atlantic coast that still allows industrial menhaden fishing in state waters. Omega Protein and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters extract more than 100 million pounds of menhaden from Chesapeake Bay waters each year using purse seine nets.
Widespread osprey nesting failures are among several warning signs that the menhaden population is struggling in the Bay. Small-scale watermen who catch menhaden for bait in local crab fisheries have also reported plummeting catches.
In a 2025 letter to state fishery regulators, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggested the Virginia Marine Resources Commission give “serious consideration to reducing purse seine fishing in Chesapeake Bay.” The letter noted that data to understand the impacts of concentrating the industrial fishery in Virginia waters remains “woefully inadequate.”
The new study notes that “a large degree of uncertainty remains about the status of adult menhaden within the Chesapeake Bay.” It adds that assessments of menhaden abundance could enhance understanding of their role in the ecosystem and support management of species that depend on them.
As part of the budget process wrapping up later this month, Virginia legislators are considering investing in Chesapeake Bay menhaden research. Recent polling shows that 80 percent of Virginia voters support state funding for such a study.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston said ospreys continue to signal that something is wrong in the Bay. He stated that declining menhaden numbers are driving the crisis and that Virginia needs to listen. Poston added that decision-makers must pause reduction fishing inside the Bay until research is completed to protect jobs, wildlife, and the estuary.
The study and related calls for research highlight ongoing concerns about forage fish populations that support the broader Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, including species important to Southern Maryland waters, commercial and recreational fisheries, and local wildlife.
