April 25, 2022 — A bill that would put the first substantial limits on Louisiana’s largest but least-known commercial fishery could improve the health of the Gulf of Mexico but cripple the economies of some coastal communities.
House Bill 1033 would cap the menhaden catch in Louisiana waters at 573 million pounds per year – an amount that far exceeds the state’s combined annual catch of shrimp, oyster, crab and crawfish but falls far below the unrestricted hauls the menhaden industry has enjoyed for decades.
The bill would also require menhaden fishing vessels to file daily reports on catch amounts and locations, creating a level of accountability that the bill’s proponents say has been sorely lacking.
“We owe it to our coast, our state and ourselves to understand and manage this fishery properly,” David Cresson, CEO of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. “Right now we don’t and it’s not.”
Still, industry officials say the bill could force the closure of the state’s two menhaden processing plants, putting hundreds of people out of work in areas with few other job prospects.
“This bill is going to close us down in a couple years, and it’s going to have a direct impact on Plaquemines Parish,” said Shane Treadaway, a fleet manager for Daybrook Fisheries in Empire.