Captain F.J. Eicke, spokesman for the Coastal Conservation Association in Mississippi submitted an opinion editorial to the Sun Herald to discuss the need for rules around Menhaden harvesting. If you live in coastal Louisiana you may not even know about this process, especially if you’re just used to seeing boats and ships out on the water. Capt. Eicke shares his perspective and why it’s an important topic for both Louisiana and Mississippi.

A most important fish raises need for public scrutiny

The menhaden fishery is a bit of an enigma to the public, but the activity of the purse seine boats is well-known to many recreational anglers, conservationists and charter fishermen.

The pogie boats set their nets after an aircraft survey and direct the boats to schools of menhaden so that these vital forage fish can be removed in massive amounts from our waters.

The catch data is not widely known but reaches 83,439.2 metric tons (183,949,994 pounds) in landings at the Moss Point plant for the 2014 season, as reported by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the full article in the Sun Herald, click here.