BATON ROUGE — Louisiana residents have just a few days left to send in their thoughts on proposed changes to commercial menhaden fishing regulations.

At a meeting in November attended by hundreds, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a notice of intent to allow commercial menhaden fishing boats to operate closer to Louisiana's shoreline in some areas while pushing them farther back in others. 

The notice of intent was added to the State Register in December, opening a public comment period which is set to close at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23.

Until that window closes, Louisiana residents can contact the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to share their thoughts on the matter.

Comments can be sent to Jason Adriance, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O Box 98000, Baton Rouge, La., 70898-9000, or via email to jadriance@wlf.la.gov.

Menhaden are also referred to as pogy. They are small fish rich with oil and are used in the production of everything from vitamins to lipstick and animal feed. Pogy boats use enormous nets to catch massive schools of fish at a time. With such big nets, unintended catches are virtually unavoidable.

Conservation organizations like the Coastal Conservation Association have long argued that the commercial menhaden industry, which employs more than 2,000 people in South Louisiana, is harmful to local fisheries. The CCA, and hundreds of recreational fishermen at the November meeting, want even tighter regulations. They point to other coastal states that have imposed stricter rules or banned menhaden fishing methods altogether. 

However, dozens of captains, anglers and others representing menhaden companies like West Bank Fishing and Daybrook Fisheries argued that the industry's impacts are far overblown, and blamed recreational fishermen for the deaths of game fish. Industry representatives felt that the state's current regulations were too harsh and hurt their profits.

"The lost volume has materially reduced the earnings of every crew member and every shore-based employee and has severely impacted the company's financial performance," said Francois Kuttel, a majority owner of Westbank Fishing.

At the meeting, both sides cited data from a $1 million bycatch study, paid for by LDWF, that was released in July 2025.