In a major failure for marine conservation in the state, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ignored hundreds of comments from anglers, legislators, charter captains, coastal businesses and conservation organizations and moved forward with a 1/4 mile harvest buffer zone for menhaden.
Not one comment in support of a 1/2 mile buffer proposal was even read before the Commission. None of the commissioners even offered the proposal. Instead, the Commission voted in support of an amendment that would clarify the coastal boundary along the Chandeleur Islands. This means the Notice of Intent (NOI) to enact a buffer zone must be submitted back for public comment before final approval.
During the two months before that final vote is taken, the FFI Gulf Coast Council, CCA Louisiana, The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and a dozen other organizations will be working to get the 1/2 mile buffer brought to amendment again.
