Saving Seafood

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.”

U.S. shrimping communities seek disaster declaration over low prices

September 5, 2023 — Pounded by dockside prices under $1 a pound, southern U.S. shrimp fishermen and their elected officials are calling for state and federal declarations of a fishery disaster over what they say is dumping of foreign shrimp on the U.S. market.

“Due to the influx of imported shrimp entering the state of Louisiana, which is allowing foreign countries to dominate our Louisiana shrimp industry…shrimp harvesters are receiving lower than $1 per pound for their shrimp product which is lower than they have ever received in years past,” wrote president Acy Cooper Jr. and other members of the Louisiana Shrimp Association in an Aug. 25 letter to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

With operating costs also rising, “commercial fishing vessels are forced to remain dockside and businesses are being forced to shut down their operations,” the letter states, asking Edwards for an emergency declaration.

That same day the Southern Shrimp Alliance sent a letter to Southern governors from North Carolina to Texas urging disaster declarations. The group noted that in 2022 Congress changed the statutory authorization for the federal Fishery Disaster Assistance program to allow the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to take action when a fishery is hit by man-made disaster “otherwise beyond the control of fishery managers to mitigate through conservation and management measures.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Louisiana inshore shrimp season opens as coronavirus hits industry; ‘it’s just not moving’

August 11, 2020 — Louisiana shrimpers started heading out to sea Monday as the fall inshore shrimp season kicked off. But with restaurants closed due to coronavirus, opening day arrived at a time when fewer people are buying shrimp, and prices remain low.

“It’s all about supply and demand,” said Acy Cooper Jr., president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. Most shrimpers sell their catch to processors, who sell the shrimp to restaurants. But processors haven’t been able to move shrimp out of inventory because of restaurant closures. “It’s just not moving,” Cooper said.

The more shrimp that sits in inventory, the less processors are willing to pay fishers for shrimp at the dock, he said. The federal economic relief package passed in March included $300 million for fisheries, of which nearly $15 million was allocated for Louisiana. But fishers still haven’t seen any of that money.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

NOAA finalizes TED rule for shrimp skimmer trawls

January 21, 2020 — Three years after it was proposed, NOAA has adopted a rule to expand sea turtle excluder requirements in the U.S. shrimp fishery – but has decided to spare about 80 percent of shallow water fishermen who could have been affected.

Turtle excluding devices, or TEDs, have been required for years on shrimp otter trawls, and the new rule will impose that on boats 40 feet and over pulling skimmer nets.

Read the full story from National Fisherman at Seafood Source

Louisiana Shrimp Stocks in Good Shape But Not Ready for Early Season Opener

April 13, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — While shrimp conditions are good this year, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission isn’t ready to open the spring season early.

Commission members said at their meeting today in Baton Rouge that they want more data before setting the dates for the season.

Nearly all of the shrimpers at the meeting said they would rather wait for the season to open at the normal time so the shrimp can grow to be larger. The spring shrimp season usually opens in mid to late May.

LDWF biologist Jeff Marx said data he’s collected show better conditions than in previous years. Shrimp size, growth and development generally depend on the amount of rainfall, the temperature and salinity level of the water.

But shrimpers spoke against an early season.

“We have a year where Jeff’s data, so far, stated we have optimum weather for growth,” said Houma shrimper Barry Rogers. “I’ve spoken to factories, spoken to fishermen (and) everyone would like to see us at least work on 60 to 70 count (per pound) shrimp. It would be great for the fishermen and great for the processors.”

Acy Cooper, a commercial shrimper and president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, said two weeks can make a big difference in the size of the shrimp, especially with how high the temperatures are right now.

“I don’t think we need a meeting at the end of the month because of the fact that we can’t go opening the season with smaller shrimp,” Cooper said. “Giving them another week or two would make a big difference. Even if it takes a little longer for us to go to work, the shrimp (will be) bigger and it’s more profitable for us.”

Cooper said last year the shrimp were so small that it was hard for shrimpers to make any money.

John Brown, a 33-year shrimper, was the sole fishermen to express interest in opening the season early. Brown said because of the pump stations and freshwater diversions in the Barataria Basin area, shrimp haven’t been able to grow large anymore.

“If you wait, you’re gonna catch nothing. I can tell you what you’re going to catch,” Brown said. “One hundred percent of my income comes from fishing. When the season’s open, I trawl. I don’t make money on big shrimp because we don’t catch big shrimp anymore.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.