Last Thursday October 7th, at their monthly meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to add coastal buffer zones to Gulf menhaden harvest regulations. The proposed changes would implement a coastwide buffer for commercial harvest of ¼ mile offshore, with 1 mile buffers off Elmers to Fourchon and off Grand Terre, and a 3 mile buffer off Grand Isle.
Just days before the meeting, this item was put on the agenda. Immediately, a coalition of conservation groups – including CCA Louisiana, Louisiana Charter Boat Association, American Sportfishing Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and several others- issued a response in opposition to the proposal.
In their letter to the LWFC Chairperson, they state, “Our coalition believes that a quarter-mile buffer zone is insufficient to adequately protect Louisiana’s wildlife and other fish resources from the substantial damage inflicted to the local ecosystem by industrial menhaden or pogie harvesting.”.
Videos and photos of hundreds of dead bull redfish (spawners) resulting from menhaden bycatch made social media last summer and later featured in outdoor magazines, drawing national attention and outrage from anglers and other conservationists. Nearly all this bycatch occurred within a mile – sometimes just yards – off beaches. Louisiana is the only state that does not have a buffer zone for menhaden harvest.
This past Spring, conservation groups attempted to pass a bill that would create a buffer zone. Although all groups (including the FFI Gulf Coast Council) supported a one-mile zone,, House Bill 535 ended up being a compromise with a 1/2 mile zone, with wider exclusions for Grand Isle and Grand Terre.
The bill sailed through the House, but some political maneuvering by the Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairman forced the bill to go into reconciliation just hours before the end of the session. The bill died in limbo. It should be noted that the SNR Chairman received substantial campaign donations from menhaden harvesters. Conservation groups vowed to bring a similar bill back in 2022, but without the compromise.
The FFI Gulf Coast Council strongly supports a coastwide one-mile exclusion buffer. After the political shenanigans with HB535, any compromise is not to be trusted. We encourage fly fishers – and all other anglers and conservationists- to express opposition to the LWFC proposal.
Please submit comments relative to the proposed rule to Jason Adriance, Fisheries Division, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or via email to jadriance@wlf.la.gov before Thursday, December 2, 2021.
