Workers to clean up dead menhaden from Chesapeake
Cleanup will begin Thursday, June 23 after thousands of dead menhaden fish washed up on a Chesapeake Bay beach in Northampton County.
What is known as a “menhaden bait vessel” had a net that was grounded, resulting in the fish spill.
A preliminary view found 2000 bushels were spilled, said Laurie Naismith, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
2015 INCIDENT:Thousands of fish wash up on Va. Shore beaches
“We’re trying to get an estimate on that now,” he said.
An official with Omega Protein, which had a menhaden spill last fall off Northampton County, said none of its boats were involved in the Wednesday spill.
Naismith did not immediately say which company owned the boat involved in the spill.
Cleanup is labor-intensive.
“Literally they go through by hand and they bag them up,” Naismith said.