Saving Seafood

Louisiana Fishermen impacted by COVID-19 can soon apply for federal aid

July 30, 2021 — The Louisiana Deparment of Wildlife and Fisheries will soon begin accepting applications for financial assistance that will be available to fishermen and others in the industry who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications for the $12.4 million in financial assistance will open on Monday, August 9 at 8:00 a.m.

The process will be open online only for a three week period.

The deadline to submit an application is August 29 at 11:59 p.m.

Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Officials say the funds are part of Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0) and will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those who qualify.

Read the full story at KLFY

Louisiana to Begin Accepting Applications For Round 2 of CARES Act Funding in August

July 29, 2021 — Another state is moving forward with distributing the second round of CARES Act funding provided for fisheries relief.

Last week SeafoodNews reported that Massachusetts began sending out applications to distribute their $23.6 million in fisheries relief funding. Now, Louisiana is getting ready to begin accepting applications for the funds, which are part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood News

LOUISIANA: LDWF will begin accepting applications from commercial fishermen for COVID-19 relief funds on Aug. 9

July 28, 2021 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will soon begin accepting applications for $12.4 million in financial assistance that will be available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for these funds will open at 8 a.m., Monday, August 9.

Applications can only be submitted online. To access the application, please visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance. The application process will be open for a three-week period. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. August 29. Funding allocation has been structured so that ALL applications submitted before the deadline will be considered. The funds, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0), will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those applicants who qualify.

“These federal funds are another step in alleviating some of the financial impacts of the pandemic on our state,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “While we know these funds are not a cure-all, we are grateful for the relief they will provide to our hardworking fishing community.”

Read the full story at WAFB

Video: Cooke subsidiary Omega Protein sinks vessel to create artificial reef

June 18, 2021 — The Defender, a decommissioned vessel previously operated on behalf of Canadian giant Cooke Inc.’s harvesting and fishmeal processing subsidiary Omega Protein, was sunk last week off the coast of Louisiana, Accesswire reported.

The vessel will serve as an artificial reef for the benefit of the Gulf’s diverse marine eco-system, the company said.

The aim of the sinking is for the vessel to become a marine habitat, promoting biodiversity and creating recreational fishing and diving opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Omega Protein has a track record of working with state agencies and non-profit organizations to offer decommissioned vessels to artificial reef programs.

The Defender, previously owned by Ocean Harvesters and operated on behalf of Omega Protein, was donated to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) under its its artificial reef initiative.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Big debate over tiny fish goes unresolved as Louisiana pogie legislation dies

June 16, 2021 — The effort to create a buffer between Louisiana’s coastline and huge menhaden ships fell flat in the 2021 legislative session, dying last week in a House-Senate conference committee.

Sponsored by Rep. Joseph Orgeron, R-Larose, House Bill 535 initially proposed a half-mile exclusion zone, with wider buffers around some barrier islands. Conservationists and recreational fishers backed the bill, arguing it would provide fragile fish nursery grounds in nearshore habitats more protection from the industry’s 1,500-foot-long nets. Menhaden industry representatives said trawling a half mile farther from the coast could cut their revenue by 20% if captains couldn’t make up that catch elsewhere.

The Senate amended the buffer to an industry-supported quarter mile. Orgeron and the House rejected that June 8, throwing the bill into a conference committee to resolve differences between the two chambers, but the legislative session ended two days later without a report from the committee.

Ben Landry, Omega Protein’s director of public affairs, thinks additional regulation isn’t “biologically necessary,” and that it places undue burden on an industry already navigating natural burdens such as tropical storms and hurricane.

“It’s easy for the environmental groups to say, ‘They can go fish somewhere else.’ That’s really not the case,” Landry said. “User conflicts are inherent, and we try our best to minimize those, but a blanket coastwide ban is not something that we thought … was scientifically supportable.”

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Online sessions to discuss Louisiana’s future in wind energy

June 10, 2021 — Online sessions will take a closer look at how offshore wind energy could become part of Louisiana’s future.

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Wednesday, June 9, that the Governor’s office and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Louisiana Economic Development and the Department of Natural Resources will host Louisiana Wind Week 2021 from June 21-25.

“While Louisiana’s onshore wind resources are limited, Louisiana’s coast is ripe for wind energy development,” said Gov. Edwards. “Thanks to years of oil and gas exploration experience, Louisiana’s existing infrastructure, workforce and business community give us a strategic advantage in developing offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico and all coastal waters of the United States.”

The state says that many Louisiana companies have already leveraged their experience to help design, fabricate and install the nation’s first commercial offshore wind farm at the Block Island project off the coast of Rhode Island.

Read the full story at KATC

Recreational fishers want Louisiana’s biggest commercial fishery to back off nearshore waters

June 7, 2021 — A small silver fish was the topic of a nearly three hour discussion among fishers, environmental advocates and lawmakers at the Louisiana Capitol this week. At issue was House Bill 535, which would not allow menhaden fishing within a quarter mile of Louisiana’s shore.

Menhaden, also called pogies, are small bait fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico to be sold as animal feed, fish oil and bait. It’s the largest commercial fishery in the state by volume. More than 1.1 billion pounds of menhaden were netted in Gulf waters in 2019, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But recreational fishers say that the boats used to catch the fish are coming too close to shore, and red drum and speckled trout are getting caught in their nets. Rep. Joseph Orgeron (R-Larose) introduced the bill at a Louisiana Senate Committee on Natural Resources meeting Wednesday. He said the legislation keeping menhaden fishers at least a quarter mile from shore was an attempt to compromise between pogie fishers, who want to continue to be able to fish closer to shore, and recreational fishers, who want to push the pogie boats a mile offshore.

Menhaden companies in Louisiana said that about 18% of the fish they catch are within a half mile of the coast. Orgeron’s bill initially proposed a buffer zone similar to Texas, but an amendment added to HB 535 during the committee hearing cut the buffer zone down from a half mile from shore to a quarter mile from shore. Still, companies said they would spend more time and money on fuel trying to catch fish further offshore.

The pogie industry has already shrunk because of economic difficulties, said Ben Landry, the director of public affairs for Omega Protein, one of three menhaden processors in the state. “It’s a little disingenuous to hear, ‘Well, they can just go someplace else and catch those fish, or it won’t hurt them,’” he said. Making up the 18% of catch caught in nearshore waters would be “awfully difficult,” he said.

While discussing the bill Orgeron said that a quarter mile buffer zone equates to 1,300 feet, about the distance from the state Capitol to the Mississippi River levee. Landry said that might seem like a small area. “But if I were looking for legislators this is where I’d go,” he said. “This is where menhaden are.”

Read the full story at the Louisiana Illuminator

Pogie ship buffer zone proposal moves forward. Here’s why some say it might harm Louisiana’s coast

June 2, 2021 — A Louisiana Senate committee on Tuesday advanced legislation to create a quarter-mile buffer between the state’s coastline and its largest commercial fishing industry.

The unanimous decision came after senators reduced the proposed fishing exclusion zone for menhaden by half, shrinking it from a half mile in the version already approved by the House to a quarter mile. The amended version of House Bill 535 attempts to mediate a growing conflict between the menhaden industry and and recreational fishers.

In recent years, charter boat captains and anglers say menhaden ships have been trawling their 1,500-foot nets closer to Louisiana’s shores. Along with conservation groups, they say this could harm the state’s already fragile coast and its habitat for popular game fish such as speckled trout and redfish.

Menhaden, also known as pogies or shad, are tiny, silver fish that serve a key role in the food chain for other wildlife, including those game fish. When caught commercially, the oil-rich fish is ground up into animal feed, health supplements and fertilizers.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Members Oppose Latest Louisiana Fishing Ban Bill

May 28, 2021 — Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) members located in the Gulf of Mexico are pushing back against a proposed Louisiana state bill that would ban menhaden vessels from fishing within half a mile of the entire Louisiana coast, 1 mile off of specific areas, and 3 miles off of Grand Isle.

The MFC argues that the legislation, H.B. 535, “presents a threat to coastal Louisiana jobs, yet has no observed scientific or environmental justification.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Dan Webster Brings Back the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act

May 26, 2021 — Last week, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., introduced a bill for the U.S. Commerce Department to increase regulation on the international shark trade.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate at the end of last month.

Rubio has been pushing the “Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act” since 2018 and he reintroduced it this week.

The bill “would require any country that seeks to export shark, ray, and skate to the US to first demonstrate it has a system of science-based management to prevent overfishing and a prohibition on the practice of shark finning” and ensure other nations “must also receive certification from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that its fisheries management policies are on par with US practices” and modifies the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is co-sponsoring the bill. So are U.S. Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Read the full story at Florida Daily