BATON ROUGE — Recreational fishermen from across Louisiana are expected to show up in droves at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting on November 6 to voice their opinions against the commercial menhaden fishing industry.

In February 2024, LDWF issued new rules requiring menhaden boats to fish at least half of a mile from most of Louisiana's coast, with even tighter restrictions in places like Holly Beach and Rutherford Beach. Areas east of the Mississippi River, like Breton and Chandelier Sounds, were not given as much breathing room. However, the new no-fishing buffer zones were still considered a win by recreational fishermen.

At the upcoming commission meeting, LDWF will present a notice of intent to reduce that buffer zone once again, allowing menhaden boats closer to the coast and, according to Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana CEO Rad Trascher, endangering the game fish Louisiana is famous for.

"The deeper you get, the less bycatch you get, plus it stays away from the game fish of trout and redfish and so on," Trascher said.

That's the problem so many Louisiana anglers have with the commercial menhaden industry — the bycatch, millions of fish caught unintentionally that often end up dead. 

A menhaden, commonly referred to as a pogy, is a small fish rich in fish oil and harvested to make everything from vitamins to lipstick and animal food. Pogy boats use enormous nets to catch massive schools of fish at a time. With such big nets, unintended catches are virtually unavoidable.

LDWF shared a study analyzing bycatch from the 2024 menhaden season. That study shows that more than 240,000 speckled trout were killed, a number "higher than previously estimated by LDWF." It also reported more than 22,000 killed red drum, also known as redfish. 

"They also kill over 150 million that they don’t even intend to, and those are redfish and trout and all the fish that frankly drive our coastal economies through recreational fishing, tourism, and so on,” Trashcer said.

Over the years, masses of dead fish have washed up on Louisiana shores, and many residents blame the menhaden industry. 

Ben Landry with Ocean Fleet Services attributed these instances to tears in the purse seine nets used by menhaden boats. He said that out of the more than 25,000 net deployments over the last two seasons, only five have torn. 

"As an industry, the two menhaden fishing companies, Westbank Fisheries and Ocean Harvesters, have acknowledged we need to take steps to reduce tears and have subsequently spent $6.5 million upgrading to Spectra/Plateena nets, which are stronger, more durable, and significantly reduce the likelihood of tears," Landry said in a statement provided to WBRZ.

The menhaden companies are, in fact, not breaking any bycatch laws, according to the study. Their total bycatch percentage is within the legal threshold, meaning bycatch accounts for less than 5% of all the fish they catch. 

Trascher and CCA Louisiana have spent years pushing for a one-mile buffer zone, similar to other Gulf and Atlantic Coast states. He said a large majority of the country's menhaden fishing happens in Louisiana waters due to the state's loose restrictions. Mississippi limits pogy boats to at least a mile from most of its coast, and Texas puts a cap on the amount of menhaden that can be taken, depending on license status. Other states have banned it completely.

"The reason they don't catch them anywhere else is all the states have made it harder and harder for them," Trascher said. "Why is that? Because the other states believe, just like the CCA does, that this is not good for the ecosystem."

Robert Campo is the owner of Campo's Marina in Shell Beach, a family business that dates back more than 100 years. As someone who interacts with local fishermen daily and an avid outdoorsman himself, he has been fighting against the commercial menhaden industry for decades. 

"I feel like, and we all feel like they're raping and pillaging and we just get left with what's ever there at the end," Campo said.

Located on the east side of the Mississippi, he feels that he got the short end of the stick last year. Nevertheless, he doesn't want to see what he views as a step backward for recreational fishermen.

"Now that they want to renege on the deal, it’s not really fair," he said. "I think you made the deal, and y'all were happy with it when you got it. I think you should stick with it.”

Both Campo and Trascher emphasized how crucial the November 6 committee meeting is to the future of fishing in Louisiana. 

"I think it's important for every recreational fisherman that can make that meeting to be there," Campo declared. "The recreational sector in a whole should be there voicing their opinion. It should be a packed house. I'm looking forward to seeing a packed house there. I've heard a lot of talking from a lot of people saying that they're all going to be there."

The notice of intent will be one of the first items addressed at the meeting, which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at LDWF headquarters. 

It is still unclear exactly what buffer zone reductions the notice of intent calls for. Landry confirmed that the menhaden industry has asked LDWF for a reduction in buffer zones, but only along "a fraction of the state's coastline" in areas "not perceived to be 'hot spots' for recreational anglers." He said under the industry's new suggested buffer zone map, the half mile buffer zone would stay in place on "the overwhelming majority of the state's coastline," and the extra buffers at Holly Beach and the Grand Isle areas would remain unchanged. 

WBRZ reached out to LDWF for a copy of the notice of intent, but we were told we'd have to wait until the meeting.