Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator
Highlights
Why it Matters: Menhaden are a critical part of the coastal ecosystem serving as an important forage food for many recreationally important species such as redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder, among others.
Louisiana’s recreational anglers have continually expressed concerns about the proximity of industrial purse seines, used in the commercial harvest of menhaden, near shorelines and beaches because of the incidental bycatch of non-target species, the threat of continued damage to Louisiana’s shallow water bottom substrates by large commercial fishing vessels, and user conflicts between recreational fishermen and commercial fishermen that are fishing close to shore.
The passage of a ¼-mile exclusion zone may be seen as a step in the right direction, yet there remains concern in the recreational fishing community that this will not be enough to adequately limit the impact made by near-shore commercial menhaden fishing.
One million dollars was also recently appropriated from the LDWF’s Artificial Reef Fund for a commercial menhaden fishing by-catch study to measure the impact that the industry has on recreationally important fish species as well as coastal Louisiana’s ecosystem as a whole. The study is anticipated to be conducted within the next two years.
In 2020, Louisiana generated $11.90 million in recreational fishing licenses, bringing anglers in from all across the country. CSF will continue to work with in-state and national partners to help conserve recreational fisheries that are culturally and economically important to Louisiana.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
