Joe Orgeron’s HB1033 to be considered by the House of Representative on Tuesday
Two weeks ago, the House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Rep. Jean-Paul Coussan, MOVED FAVORABLY on House Bill 1033 by Rep. Joe Orgeron, which would require menhaden harvest reporting on every set made in Louisiana waters, and would set an Annual Catch Limit (overall, and by zone) on menhaden harvested in Louisiana waters. The bi-partisan bill will now move to the full House for consideration TOMORROW. THANK YOU to the following committee members who voted in favor of HB1033: Rep. Dewith Carrier, Rep. Brett Geymann, Rep. Tim Kerner, Rep. Buddy Mincey, Jr., Rep. Joe Orgeron, Rep. Neil Riser, Rep. Troy Romero, Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn and Rep. Bill Wheat, Jr.
Rep. Orgeron, along with co-authors Rep. Bryan Fontenot, Rep. Scott McKnight and Rep. Vincent Pierre worked together to offer HB 1033, which is a VERY POSITIVE STEP forward toward proper management of this enormous fishery. Every year, hundreds of millions of pounds of this critical forage species are removed from Louisiana’s territorial waters, often within a quarter mile of our beaches. At the same time, we have NO UNDERSTANDING of how this size or style of industrialized harvest is impacting the ecosystem and the critical species that live there, like specks, reds, shrimp, nesting birds and sea mammals. HB 1033 would provide critical information on the harvest to Louisiana fisheries managers, while providing a basic level of protection for Louisiana’s coastal resources.
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