Saving Seafood

LOUISIANA: Rooted in Plaquemines Parish: A Life in Louisiana’s Menhaden Industry

March 9, 2026 — Along Louisiana’s coast, the menhaden industry has quietly powered local economies for generations – providing industrial jobs, rebuilding communities after disasters, and allowing families to stay rooted in rural coastal parishes. The small, silvery fish harvested in the Gulf are processed into high-protein fish meal and nutrient-rich oil used in aquaculture, pet food, agriculture, and other essential products. In Plaquemines Parish, that work supports families, schools, and small businesses.

For Travis Harvey, it has supported an entire life.

This will be my 29th fishing season,” Harvey says. “I started when I was 20 years old. This is all I’ve ever done, and all I ever wanted to do.”

Harvey is Plant Manager at Daybrook Fisheries in Empire, LA, the processing partner to Westbank Fishing. But his story is less about job titles and more about roots.

Growing Up Seven Miles Away

Harvey was born and raised in Home Place, just seven miles from the plant.

“I’ve never really left,” he says. “After Katrina we evacuated for a few months, but we came back and rebuilt. I’ve always wanted to stay right here.”

In a rural parish where many young people feel pressure to move away to find opportunity, Harvey considers that a gift.

Read the full article at the Advocate

LOUISIANA: As Louisiana’s Wetlands Erode, A Fishing Culture Fights to Survive

March 4, 2026 — I grew up fishing these waters down here just like everyone down in Shell Beach,” says Brad Robin, whose family has lived here for generations. “We never had a bike ride in the streets. We had a pirogue battle in the canals,” he says, referring to the lightweight canoes used to navigate the marshlands here.

Like many of those who live in and around Shell Beach, a small fishing community 30 miles southeast of New Orleans, Robin’s ancestors were immigrants from the Canary Islands. Between 1778 and 1783, an estimated 2,000 Canary Islanders arrived in New Orleans, receiving land, a home, and a monthly stipend from Spain. Over time, these immigrants settled in the coastal towns of St. Bernard Parish, including Shell Beach, where they developed their own cultural identity as “Isleños.”

For over 200 years, the Isleños have provided for themselves by catching shrimp, fish, and oysters in the coastal wetlands of southeast Louisiana, passing their vocation on to their descendants and creating a way of life that follows the ever-changing tides of the Gulf of Mexico. “The natural environment has shaped the cultural heritage and legacy of everyone who’s here,” says St. Bernard Parish historian and 11th-generation Isleño William Hyland.

Isleño culture is defined by a spirit of reciprocity, one that extends to the kitchen, where families spend hours transforming daily seafood catches into traditional communal meals. Some favorite dishes: Besugo al Horno (baked red snapper with potatoes), Stuffed Mirlitons (chayote squash filled with crabmeat) and Gambas al Ajillo (garlic shrimp).

Read the full article at Civil Eats

LOUISIANA: In departure from norm, Coast Guard demands immigration papers on Louisiana docks

February 18, 2026 — Since November, the U.S. Coast Guard—the military branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — has conducted regular raids at Louisiana fishing docks and in Louisiana bayous to arrest immigrant deckhands and oyster harvesters.

Seafood workers say that the Coast Guard, in a departure from the norm, has conducted about seven sweeps since early November, resulting in multiple arrests. They have concentrated efforts 40 minutes east of New Orleans, around Hopedale, a small unincorporated fishing community in St. Bernard Parish that’s composed of a string of docks lining a single road, Hopedale Highway.

The raids at the quiet St. Bernard Parish docks, and on the surrounding waters of Biloxi Marsh, conducted largely out of public view, are surprising to local immigration attorneys, seafood industry owners, and workers — because the Coast Guard has not historically conducted immigration enforcement at inland docks.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter told The Lens that he didn’t agree with the shift in Coast Guard priorities, and that he worried it could divert resources from the Coast Guard’s work in Louisiana that keeps river traffic moving and rescues people after disasters.

“Trump’s reckless Department of Homeland Security has placed deportations above all other priorities, making Louisianans less safe,” Carter said. “This has pulled our service members away from investigations into illicit activities and actual criminals that are endangering our communities.”

Read the full article at the Louisiana Illuminator

LOUISIANA: More than 900 Louisiana restaurants cited for violating new seafood labeling law in 2025

February 13, 2026 — More than 900 restaurants were cited in 2025 for violating Louisiana’s new seafood labeling law, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

First passed in 2019, the law requires restaurants to disclose either on their menu or with a clear public sign whether the crawfish and shrimp they sell is imported. First-time violations result in a fine of up to USD 500 (EUR 421), and repeat violations can increase fines up to USD 2,000 (EUR 1,685).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Louisiana wildlife agents use drone to spot illegal oyster harvesting

February 12, 2026 — Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries used an aerial drone to spot an individual illegally harvesting hundreds of pounds of oysters in February.

While on an early morning patrol of the Sister Lake Oyster Seed Reservation 3 February, agents decided to fly an aerial drone overhead to observe an individual harvesting oysters from a vessel. Oyster season in the area had already been closed for more than a month.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: Louisiana shrimpers reject CCA menhaden messaging

February 2, 2026 — The Louisiana Shrimp Association issued a sharp public response this week after it said CCA Louisiana tagged the group in a Facebook post it described as an attempt to draw shrimpers into an attack on Louisiana’s menhaden fishery.

According to their site, CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) Louisiana is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Louisiana’s marine resources. Their work also includes influencing how the state’s fisheries are managed, including pushing for regulatory outcomes that often conflict with commercial fishing perspectives.

Saving Seafood reported what the shrimpers wrote in a statement, “Let us be absolutely clear about where we stand…attempting to drag us into their ongoing attack on commercial fisheries.” Showing CCA’s broader campaign against working fishermen.

In the statement, the shrimpers pointed to what they described as a long series of policy losses for commercial fishermen in Louisiana, including the loss of gill net fisheries, restrictions on mullet fishing, and the designation of redfish and speckled trout as game fish- moves they said have steadily narrowed access to traditional fisheries.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

LOUISIANA: Louisiana Shrimp Association Rebukes CCA Louisiana, Says Don’t Use Us in Attacks on Commercial Fishing

Jan. 29, 2026 — The Louisiana Shrimp Association issued a forceful public response after it said CCA Louisiana tagged the group in a Facebook post that appeared designed to bait shrimpers into joining an attack on Louisiana’s menhaden fishery. “Let us be absolutely clear about where we stand,” the association wrote as it rejected any effort to enlist the shrimp industry in CCA’s menhaden messaging.

In its statement, the shrimpers wrote that CCA Louisiana was “attempting to drag us into their ongoing attack on commercial fisheries,” and framed the episode as part of a broader campaign against working fishermen. “CCA has systematically worked to destroy the way of life of Louisiana’s commercial fishermen,” the statement continued. “Through misleading propaganda and back-room political pressure, they have stripped working fishermen of our rights and our livelihoods.”

The shrimpers cited a series of fishery policy fights it says have steadily narrowed opportunity for commercial harvesters in Louisiana. “Commercial fishermen have lost the right to fish with gill nets,” the statement said. “We are prohibited from fishing mullet at night and on weekends, wiping out our entire winter fishery and the income that sustained our families. Redfish and speckled trout were pushed into ‘game fish’ status, completely removing commercial fishermen from those fisheries.”

With those options reduced many commercial fishing families have become increasingly dependent on shrimp, but only seasonally. “Now, many commercial fishermen are left with shrimp as our only primary income, and only for about six months out of the year,” the association wrote, warning that shrimpers could be next. “We watched what CCA tried to do to shrimpers in North Carolina last year. We know exactly what is coming next. After menhaden, they are coming for the shrimpers, and the Louisiana Shrimp Association is being targeted simply for standing with menhaden fishermen.”

The post that triggered the response was published by CCA Louisiana on January 24, 2026, and highlighted comments from Andrew Godley, identified as the founder and president of Parish Brewing Company. In that post, Godley claimed “one of the ugliest impacts” of the menhaden fishery is its relationship to farmed shrimp overseas, arguing that menhaden-based fishmeal helps make imported farmed shrimp cheaper and therefore harmful to domestic shrimpers. Godley also asserted that Louisiana’s menhaden policy effectively subsidizes foreign shrimp farms by allowing “free, unlimited removal” of menhaden used as feed.

The Louisiana Shrimp Association’s response criticized CCA’s goals for commercial fishing in the state. “Let there be no confusion about the end game: CCA will not stop until every commercial fishery is shut down,” the statement said. “This is not conservation—it is greed and control.”

As part of its criticism, the association raised what it described as a core fairness issue: reporting and accountability. “If CCA truly cared about conservation, they would support accountability for everyone, not just commercial fishermen,” the statement continued. “Every commercial fishery—shrimp, crabs, oysters, crawfish, menhaden, and finfish—must report every pound we harvest through trip tickets. Meanwhile, recreational fisheries remove massive amounts of fish from Louisiana waters without reporting a single fish. That hypocrisy must end.”

The statement called for legislative action to impose reporting requirements on the recreational sector and organizations involved in the policy fight. “We call on the Louisiana Legislature to take immediate action and require recreational organizations and fisheries, including CCA, to report their catch,” the association wrote. “Conservation without accountability is meaningless.”

The association urged the public and lawmakers to oppose what it described as incremental attacks on commercial livelihoods. “To the public: stand with the working men and women who have fed this state for generations,” the statement said. “To our legislators: stop allowing one special-interest group to dismantle Louisiana’s commercial fishing industry piece by piece.”

The shrimpers concluded by unequivocally refusing to ally with any campaign against another fishery: “Commercial fishermen will never take sides with CCA, and we will not be used to help shut down any fishery. The Louisiana Shrimp Association stands united with all commercial fishermen—menhaden, shrimp, and every working fishery in Louisiana and across this country.”

Alabama, Gulf Coast senators push NOAA to tighten enforcement against illegal Mexican fishing in Gulf

January 26, 2026 — Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt joined a group of Gulf Coast lawmakers in urging federal regulators to crack down on illegal fishing by Mexican vessels in U.S. waters, warning the practice undercuts American fishermen, threatens fish stocks and fuels cartel activity.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, led a Jan. 14 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calling on the agency to use its import restriction authority and other enforcement tools to stop illegally harvested red snapper from entering U.S. markets according to a news release. Cassidy and other Gulf lawmakers said enforcement at sea alone has not been enough to deter the activity.

“We write to express concern regarding the continued illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters in the Gulf of America. The Coast Guard has demonstrated sustained and effective operational enforcement through repeated interdictions and seizures; however, the continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea, by itself, is insufficient to eliminate the incentive to fish illegally. We urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner that supports law-abiding U.S. fisheries,” the senators wrote.

Read the full article at Gulf Coast Media

LOUISIANA: Science, not assumption, in Louisiana menhaden debate

January 21, 2026 — Louisiana has long relied on science to guide its management of natural resources, including energy, agriculture, and fisheries. That approach is now under scrutiny as the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission reviews proposed changes to the state’s menhaden buffer zone regulations, according to an article by the Louisiana Commercial Fisheries Coalition, reported by NOLA.com.

For decades, Louisiana’s menhaden fishery operated under strict coastal limits and has been continuously monitored and independently assessed. Peer-reviewed stock assessments have consistently found that menhaden are not overfished and that overfishing is not occurring, the article reported.

That began to change in 2021, when the state imposed additional blanket buffer restrictions along the coast. Those measures were designed largely to reduce user conflict with the recreational fishing sector, even though Louisiana-specific data to justify the changes did not yet exist. The result was a one-size-fits-all regulatory approach applied to a highly diverse coastline.

Louisiana’s menhaden fleet consists of just 27 vessels, compared to more than 400,000 licensed saltwater anglers statewide. The expanded buffer zones closed traditional fishing grounds that later scientific analysis showed posed little environmental risk. The closures had real economic consequences for menhaden fishermen, processing plant workers, and the coastal communities that rely on year-round commercial fishing jobs.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

For Louisiana’s Menhaden Fishery, If Science Doesn’t Guide Regulations, What Does?

January 20, 2026 — Louisiana has long relied on science to guide how it manages its natural resources. From energy to agriculture to fisheries, legislators and regulators have invested in research, monitoring, and expert oversight to ensure decisions are grounded in evidence rather than assumption.

That commitment is now being tested as the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission reviews the state’s menhaden buffer zone.

How We Got Here

For decades, Louisiana’s menhaden fishery operated under strict coastal limits and remained sustainable. The fishery has been continuously monitored, independently assessed, and confirmed as healthy by peer-reviewed stock assessments. Menhaden are not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring.

But beginning in 2021, additional blanket buffer restrictions were imposed to reduce user conflict with the recreational fishing sector. Many of these measures were accepted in good faith, even though Louisiana-specific data did not yet exist to support them. The rules applied a one-size-fits-all approach to a coastline that is anything but uniform.

To put the issue in perspective, Louisiana has more than 400,000 licensed saltwater anglers and just 27 menhaden vessels. Yet broad restrictions closed traditional fishing grounds that science later showed posed little environmental risk. The result was real economic harm to Louisiana menhaden fishermen, processing plant workers, and coastal communities that depend on these year-round commercial fishing jobs.

Read the full article at the Advocate