THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
CCA Louisiana condemns the recent LDWF Notice of Intent as betrayal of hard-won compromise.
On November 6th, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted 4-3 to move forward with a Notice of Intent (NOI) that breaks a year-old compromise with Louisiana’s recreational fishing community and rolls back critical protections for our coastal waters.
This isn’t just bad policy—it’s a broken deal.
In February 2024, after two massive fish kill events left tons of dead menhaden, redfish, croakers, and other fish rotting on Louisiana beaches, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission worked with Governor Jeff Landry to broker a compromise: a half-mile buffer zone that would keep industrial menhaden operations out of our shallowest nearshore waters. Both sides agreed. Louisiana’s anglers, charter captains, and coastal communities got meaningful protection for our fisheries and beaches.
That deal lasted exactly one fishing season before the industry came back asking for more.
The Science Hasn’t Changed—Only the Industry’s Promises
Louisiana’s own $1 million bycatch study documented what happens when industrial purse seine operations work our nearshore waters. The LGL Ecological Research Associates study found approximately 30,000 breeding-size bull redfish killed annually as bycatch, along with more than 240,000 spotted seatrout and 146 million total fish. These aren’t disputed numbers. This is Louisiana’s own research, conducted by LDWF biologists.
If passed, this Notice of Intent will reduce existing buffer zones from half a mile to just a quarter mile in four critical areas: Cameron Jetties to Rutherford Beach, Mermentau River to Rollover, Point Au Fer to Bayou Grand Caillou, and Bay Long to Southwest Pass. It also opens a new gap between Baptiste Collette and Breton Island, creating an industrial fishing corridor into waters that connect with Breton and Chandeleur Sounds.
Louisiana Stands Alone
Other Gulf states with significant tourism and recreational fishing economies maintain far larger buffer zones. They understand what Louisiana seems to have forgotten: our shallow coastal waters aren’t just hunting grounds for industrial operations—they’re nursery habitat for every fish that swims our coast.
The regulatory double standard is impossible to ignore. Louisiana recreational anglers cannot legally keep a breeding-size redfish. Period. Yet industrial operations kill 30,000 of these same fish every year as bycatch, and rather than tighten oversight, the commission is voting to let them fish even closer to shore.
This is catastrophic risk management failure. You don’t reduce protections when the science shows ongoing impacts. You don’t break compromises before the ink is dry. And you don’t hand our public resources over to foreign-owned corporations with a documented history of leaving Louisiana communities behind when operations became more profitable elsewhere.
The Fight Continues
Last week, 188 sport-fishing businesses from across the country submitted a joint letter to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission urging them to maintain the half-mile buffer. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, representing hunters and anglers nationwide, called this decision “nothing less than the industry and their political allies backing out of that deal.”
The commission heard three hours of public testimony—hundreds of Louisiana citizens packed the room to oppose this rollback. The vote was 4-3. Four commissioners chose to side with the industry. Three chose to stand with Louisiana’s anglers, our coastal communities, and the science.
These are the Commissioners who voted FOR the NOI buffer modifications: Chairman Kevin Sagrera, Commissioners Andrew Blanchard, Nathan Wall, and Jimmy Martin Sr. (Chairman Sagrera broke the 3-3 tie).
CCA extends our sincere gratitude to Commissioners Andy Brister, Gene Reynolds, and Jonathan Walker for standing with Louisiana’s recreational fishermen and voting against this NOI. We also thank Rep. Joe Ogeron and Sen. Mike Fesi, who continue to champion our coastal fisheries at every turn.
What’s Next?
The Notice of Intent will be published in the State Register on December 19, 2025, opening a public comment period through January 23, 2026. The proposed rule then proceeds to Legislative Oversight on January 20th, followed by a 30-day review period and February legislative hearings. Without legislative action, these changes take effect on March 20, 2026.
CCA Louisiana will not stand by while hard-won protections are dismantled. We will mobilize our 25,000+ members. We will work with our coalition partners across the recreational fishing industry. We will engage Louisiana legislators who understand what’s at stake. And we will make our voices heard at every step of this process.
What You Can Do
Stay tuned. Stay engaged. Talk to your family, friends and coworker this holiday season and tell them how they can get involved as well.
Interested persons may submit comments relative to the proposed rule upon publication in the State Register on December 19 to Jason Adriance, Fisheries Division, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or via email to jadriance@wlf.la.gov through January 23, 2026, at 3:00 PM.
While the comments period is certainly an opportunity to express our continued disgust with the NOI, it’s our opinion that further comments will do little to move the needle on Commission votes.
Going forward, our efforts will be educating members of the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees. These members make up the Legislative Oversight Committee that can veto the NOI.
CLICK HERE to read the LDWF NOI Summary
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to modify the commercial menhaden fishery buffers off the Louisiana coast.
This action will reduce the existing buffer areas from ½ mile to ¼ mile from the Cameron Jetties to Rutherford Beach, Mermentau River to Rollover, Point Au Fer to Bayou Grand Caillou, and Bay Long to Southwest Pass. A gap in the buffer is being added between Baptiste Collette and Breton Island in open waters that connect outside waters with waters inside Breton and Chandeleur Sounds.
