It’s no secret just how crucial fishing is to the state of Louisiana; but lately, the Sportsman’s Paradise has been more like a dystopia.
Countless dead rotting fish have washed up on Louisiana beaches in recent years. The cause? Commercial fishing for menhaden, or pogies as many Louisiana natives call them.
Menhaden are a small fish harvested for use in things like pet food, agricultural uses, etc. You won’t find them on the nightly special menu at a seafood restaurant like many of Louisiana’s other fish.
They are caught from boats that are 180 feet long with nets as big as 1,500 feet wide. CEO of Coastal Conservation Association Louisiana David Cresson explains that with a net that big, these boats are pulling in more than just menhaden.
“So you talk about a billion pounds of menhaden that are harvested from Louisiana’s coast every year, but upwards of 30 or 40 or 50 million pounds of unintended bycatch like redfish and speckled trout and shrimp and croakers and other fish that are really important to us here in Louisiana,” Cresson says.
At Campo’s Marina in St. Bernard Parish, locals like marina owner Rob Campo have witnessed the damage of menhaden fishing firsthand.
“The problem is they have to get to this net. So they plow this big mothership to the net,” Campo says. “And when they turn these boats around, you see all the muddy waters. That’s because that boat is not supposed to be in 8 feet of water, or 5 feet of water, 6 feet of water.”
The problems don’t stop at killing fish and destroying habitats. Menhaden fishing also hurts local commercial fishermen, especially shrimpers who fish the same areas. Their nets can fall into the trenches dug by the menhaden boats, causing the nets to be completely destroyed.
For as long as these menhaden boats have destroyed Louisiana, local fishermen are the ones who have been punished the most. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries recently reduced the recreational limits on both speckled trout and redfish. Recently, though, small steps have been taken in the fight against pogie fishing.
“The state of Louisiana has now implemented a one half mile buffer off of our coast,” Cresson says. “That is a good start. It’s a step in a good direction. We certainly would have liked to see in a little more than a half mile to start.”
However, this buffer only affects part of Louisiana’s coastline. One of the areas still without a buffer is Breton Sound, right in Campo’s backyard. He is concerned that the new regulations will put even more fishing pressure on the areas without a buffer.
Louisiana residents who want to get involved can join organizations like CCA Louisiana. They can also reach out to their local policymakers, as well as attend the LDWF Commission meeting on April 4 at the LDWF Headquarters in Baton Rouge.
