November 7, 2025 — The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on Thursday advanced a plan to decrease the size of a no-fishing zone after members of the commercial menhaden fishing industry complained that guidelines put in place last year had cut their haul by up to 25 percent.
The panel last year had restricted menhaden boats to areas at least a half-mile offshore at points west of the Mississippi River. At its meeting Thursday, members voted 4-3 to approve a notice of intent to decrease the buffer zone to a quarter-mile in some areas, but increase it in other areas deemed more sensitive.
Hundreds of recreational anglers in attendance opposed the pullback. They had wanted the commission to push the buffer zone out to a mile offshore.