State commissioners at a packed meeting in Baton Rouge on Thursday approved a proposal to ease some regulations on while adding additional protections in certain sensitive areas off the coast.
The proposal sets in motion a process that could see the new rules take effect next year, though the fight over the intensely scrutinized plan is expected to continue in the months ahead, potentially drawing in state legislators. Discussion and public comment on the proposal stretched for about three hours at Thursday's contentious meeting of the state's Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.
In the end, the commission voted 4-3 in favor of the proposal that would reduce the half-mile buffer zone in certain areas off the coast where fishing for menhaden, or pogies, is currently banned. The buffer would be a quarter-mile in those areas under the proposal, while the no-go zone for the menhaden industry would be extended in other particularly sensitive areas.
In total, banned areas for the industry would increase by around 4%. But the issue has nonetheless sparked deep controversy among recreational fishermen, charter captains and conservation groups who say there is too much at risk along ถถา๕h's eroding coast to again allow the industrial-scale fishing closer to shore.
The industry argues that the current buffer zones have cut deeply into its profits, putting at risk jobs and tax revenue. Industry officials have pointed to a bycatch study recently carried out showing that the effects of menhaden boats were not as bad as some had feared.
One of the authors of the study told commissioners that the buffer zone reductions are unlikely to affect bycatch, or fish caught besides menhaden, on a per-net basis, meaning if the same amount of fishing occurs. Opponents argued the buffer zone changes would increase fishing, and bycatch as a result.
The current rules are the result of a compromise reached last year at the behest of Gov. Jeff Landry. The industry has been consistently urging the state to ease them, saying it faces a 15-25% reduction in its catch.
A public comment period will now follow until Jan. 23. State legislators will also have the option of weighing in and can reject the proposal. The earliest the new rule could take effect is March 20.
'That was the deal'
An overflow crowd packed Thursday's meeting, which featured a long succession of speakers on various sides of the issue. Recreational fishing and conservation groups opposed to the changes had spent the last few weeks mobilizing their membership to turn out in force, while menhaden industry employees also spoke out in favor of the plan.
"That was not what we wanted, but we agreed to it. That was the deal," Charlie Caplinger, chairman of the ถถา๕h chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, said of last year's half-mile compromise, which followed a push to increase the buffer zone to a full mile. "And now we're back here again, rehashing all of this all over again ... This is about money."
Westbank Fishing boats load their boats with menhaden in the Gulf off the coast of south ถถา๕h on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Chris Granger
Caplinger echoed the concerns of many speakers at the meeting, with charter captains saying the recreational fishing industry's economic contributions were being given short shrift.ย
But Francois Kuttel, president of the Westbank Fishing menhaden operation, based in Empire, argued that the impacts of the pogy boats were being exaggerated, pointing to the recent study. He and others in the industry have also spoken of the some 800 direct jobs and $25 million in state and local tax revenue it contributes.
"Proponents of the menhaden buffer zone have said that they do not wish to harm the menhaden industry or its employees, but their assumption that our vessels can simply fish farther offshore to make up the lost volume has proven false," said Kuttel.
The plan would see the following changes to the rules:
- The buffer would be reduced to a quarter-mile from a half-mile from the Cameron Jetties to Rutherford Beach; from the Mermentau River to Rollover; from Point Au Fer to Bayou Grand Caillou; and from Bay Long to Southwest Pass.
- The three-mile buffer around Grand Isle and the one-mile buffer around Holly Beach would remain in place
- Additional buffer areas would be added on the inside of the Chandeleur Islands and around Isle Dernieres
Study of bycatch
The current buffer zone is the result of an evolving process that was contentious at every step, with much at stake for the menhaden industry, which utilizes motherships, spotter planes and purse seines that stretch several hundred yards. A series of spills involving millions of fish helped lead to an initial quarter-mile buffer for most of the coast a few years ago, which was increased to a half-mile with last year's compromise.
Conservation groups argue the buffer has helped greatly reduce net tears and resulting spills, while the industry says the reduction is because it has spent substantial money upgrading to stronger nets. It also says it has improved excluder devices to help prevent bycatch.
The vast majority of the Gulf's menhaden fishing occurs off ถถา๕h. Other Gulf states, more dependent upon beach tourism, have stricter regulations. ถถา๕h's river-fed marine environment also provides ideal habitat for pogies.
The bycatch study showed that it was not as bad for certain popular species, such as redfish, as some had assumed. The survivability of redfish released from industry nets was also high, helped by excluder devices that keep larger fish from being sucked up in hoses.
Redfish bycatch was about 30,000 in 2024, far below what was killed by recreational anglers, which was around 850,000. The study also noted that the industry's total bycatch for all species remained significantly below the 5% threshold in state law.
But the numbers were still deeply concerning for recreational organizations. Beyond redfish numbers, they also pointed out the tens of millions of smaller fish, such as croaker, important to the food chain that are killed by the industry.