Maryland and Virginia are clashing over the Atlantic Menhaden, a small forage fish vital to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Virginia’s legislature has rejected calls for a moratorium on menhaden harvesting in the Bay, other reforms and even basic science, despite growing evidence of overfishing and its devastating knock-on effects. The primary beneficiary is a single Canadian-owned company. With $2.5 million in federal research now approved, Virginia should pause harvesting inside the Bay until the science is complete.