# Your Tarpon and the LA Menhaden Fleet



## Water Bound (Dec 12, 2018)

Done! Thank you for posting.


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

thanks so much! 

Please keep the emails coming


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

It's critical to protect the food sources fish need in every coastal state... Hope y'all will keep after them...


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

Please keeping flooding them with emails, even though we are past the comment deadline


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

But but but...people need their omega fish oil pills...


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

yes, there is another side of the coin. People argue that Gulf Menhaden are needed for bait...crawfishermen, crabbers and i guess catfish farmers all use it one form or another (meal, oil etc). I believe a good bulk of the pogy catch is used to feed farm raised fish...salmon etc.

What I would like to see is better management / oversight of the fleet and more responsible practices...like staying away from certain areas like beaches (Grand Isle) and our National Wildlife Refuges (Breton). How about not dragging nets along Elmers Island during the trout spawn??

The reduction fleet is not going away any time soon, but finally a large enough group of anglers and sportsman are fed up with the destruction witnessed every summer.

At 9:30 central time today, I am afraid LDWF is going to paint a pretty picture and claim everything is fine and dandy. Being ok with the status quo is dangerous. We have terrific fishing...but imagine what it would be like if we didn't sweep our shores and nearshore waters with seine nets and remove Billions (yes BILLIONS) of pounds of food and 60 millions pounds of by-catch annually. For many of us, we dont' have to imagine. We saw how incredible Louisiana was after the BP spill. Commercial fishing shut down for just one season, and there was an explosion of life.


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

well the Commission received 138 emails. Thanks everyone 

Just as I suspected, Jason Adriance with LDAF tried to spin the situation by using studies from 1994 and research from the Menhaden industry, making it seem like everything was fine. However, when pressed his inability to answer questions about his own fishery was alarming and embarrassing. 

Thankfully we had some heavy hitters weigh in during the comment period TRCP, CCA and the LA Charter Capt Association. It was gratifying to hear the commenters describe the shit show we see out in our waters. It sounds like we have some good traction to help keep the Pogy fleet in check and possibly limit where they fish. The fleet will fight back, as they have enjoyed full run of our coast for decades now. We will see what happens.


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## Water Bound (Dec 12, 2018)

Glad to hear! A quick study of the Chesapeake Bay should help LA see the history of over fishing such a valuable resource.


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

The Commissioner wanted to know why only 4 States allow a menhaden reduction industry and why the other states oppose it. I would love the Commissioner to hear from those states who have banned the reduction fleet from their waters.


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## Ruddy Duck LA (Jun 23, 2017)

TidewateR said:


> The Commissioner wanted to know why only 4 States allow a menhaden reduction industry and why the other states oppose it. I would love the Commissioner to hear from those states who have banned the reduction fleet from their waters.


My favorite part was when he was asked why other states do not allow such harvest. His answer was he didn't know.

Sometimes it is so hard to tell the truth.....


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

Well thank you all for emailing the WLF Commission last go - round.

The state is now proposing a 1 mile buffer from the coast. It's a start, but not enough. We need 3 miles or more to adequately protect our game fish.

If you can show up in person in Baton Rouge November 5th at 9:30 in the WLF building that would be great. Either way, please email [email protected] with your thoughts on the reduction fishery removing 600-800 million pounds of menhaden each year with very few limitations on where they can operate.

Thanks so much


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## fatman (Nov 23, 2012)

SAVE THE POGY!!


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

Here we go again and again. Forwarding the info below from a Facebook post. Thank you all as always. Will never give up on this, and hope you won’t either.

“EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS ASAP to [email protected]

On Thursday, January 6, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will vote on final approval of a 1/4 mile buffer zone where industrialized menhaden (pogies) reduction harvest will be restricted. The original Notice of Intent (NOI) was passed on a 4-3 vote in October, despite no support from the recreational fishing, charter fishing, or conservation community. The 1/4 mile buffer was proposed by the pogie industry themselves as a way to avoid legitimate conservation measures, and mitigate “user conflict.”

The menhaden industry uses large ships and enormous purse seine nets (up to 1500 feet long) to capture nearly a BILLION POUNDS of pogies annually from our waters, along with tens of millions of pounds of bycatch. According to industry reps, their ships draw up to 12 feet of water, yet they operate in waters as shallow as 5-6 feet deep. On many occasions, they have been observed churning up sediment, and leaving countless dead redfish and other species in their wake. 

Even worse, we have no idea how the removal of so much critical forage (and so much bycatch) from such a small strip of Louisiana’s coastline impacts species that depend on menhaden. Species like speckled trout, redfish, cobia, tarpon, snapper, tuna (and many more) and a wide variety of marine birds and mammals rely on pogies. Why are we not interested in knowing how this type of industrial fishing, which is outlawed in most places, is impacting Louisiana and the critical marine species that live here?

1/4 mile of protection is completely inadequate. CCA and our broad coalition of conservation partners believe that the commission should amend the proposal to a minimum of 1/2 mile, to provide a very basic level of protection for our fragile, shallow shorelines and beaches. In the meantime, LDWF should implement a management structure that considers the overall impact of menhaden harvest on the entire coastal ecosystem and the marine species that live and breed there. 

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS ASAP
to [email protected]

The final vote is Thursday. 

Ask the Commission to amend the NOI to a minimum of 1/2 mile. Email your comments to [email protected] before Wednesday at 2pm. You may also make your comments on Thursday, 9:30am at LDWF Headquarters in Baton Rouge”


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

sink the pogy boats


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## Miles813 (Jul 1, 2021)

Email sent, this is a critical issue to the Gulf.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Harvesting in state or federal water? TPWD just proposed speckled trout reduction and allows online public comment on regulation changes. May have to be a Texas resident to comment.


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## fatman (Nov 23, 2012)

SAVE THE POGIE!


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