September 24, 2026 — Two major players in the liquified natural gas industry in Louisiana covered part of the cost of a recent restocking of redfish in coastal waters, but fishermen are skeptical about whether it will be effective. They’re instead calling for more investment in marshland restoration.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries released 150,000 redfish on Sept. 18, with young, hatchery-raised fingerlings in the Rigolets just outside New Orleans, near Grand Isle and in West Cove, adjacent to Calcasieu Lake.
The releases were funded in part by the joint venture Cameron LNG, which operates a large export terminal along the Calcasieu Ship Channel, and Sempra Infrastructure, the company that has a controlling interest in the facility. Restocking costs amounted to about $6 per fish, according to The Times-Picayune, which would total $900,000.
The Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana and the nonprofit Recreational Fisheries Research Institute organized the restocking, which also had financial support from Air Products, the American Fishing Tackle Co. and Jefferson Parish, according to the report.