The Gulf Coast has two main issues, no catch limits and an overly concentrated target area.
Gulf Menhaden
The Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) is a small marine filter-feeding fish belonging to the family Clupeidae. The range of Gulf menhaden encompasses the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico nearshore waters, with the exception of the extreme eastern Yucatan and western Cuba. Evidence from morphology and DNA analyses suggest that the Gulf menhaden is the Gulf of Mexico complement to the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). Both species support large commercial reduction fisheries, with Gulf menhaden supporting the second largest fishery, by weight, in the United States. In the Gulf menhaden are the number one source of protein in the diets of all major species of marine mammals, predatory fish, and predatory and migratory birds. The Delta ecosystem depends on menhadens abundance to thrive.
The Gulf Coast Issue
The Gulf Coast has two main issues, no catch limits and an overly concentrated target area.
Issue One - Menhaden reduction fishing is unrestricted in Louisiana. There are no quota limits. The annual take averages over 1.5 BILLION menhaden.
Issue Two - Reduction fishing is concentrated close to shore within the Mississippi River Delta ecosystem, causing ongoing degradation to an already over stressed estuary.
The Certifiying agencies, Federal and State regulatory agencies, and the reduction industry all claim there are billions of menhaden in the Gulf Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 273,295 square miles. The Federal EEZ starts at 3 miles offshore and goes to 200 miles out. They do not consider the exclusive targeting of the near shore Delta waters by the reduction fishing industry in their modeling or management decisions.
The goal is to restrict menhaden reduction fishing to Federal waters only (3 miles out and beyond) on the Gulf Coast.
Issue One - Menhaden reduction fishing is unrestricted in Louisiana. There are no quota limits. The annual take averages over 1.5 BILLION menhaden.
Issue Two - Reduction fishing is concentrated close to shore within the Mississippi River Delta ecosystem, causing ongoing degradation to an already over stressed estuary.
The Certifiying agencies, Federal and State regulatory agencies, and the reduction industry all claim there are billions of menhaden in the Gulf Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 273,295 square miles. The Federal EEZ starts at 3 miles offshore and goes to 200 miles out. They do not consider the exclusive targeting of the near shore Delta waters by the reduction fishing industry in their modeling or management decisions.
The goal is to restrict menhaden reduction fishing to Federal waters only (3 miles out and beyond) on the Gulf Coast.
The dots are net set locations for a typical annual menhaden harvest. All of the reduction fishing on the Gulf Coast is taking place nearshore in the Mississippi River Delta estuary.
The white/pink line with fish symbols represents the outer boundry of the Federal waters (EEZ) in the Gulf. The red marked area denotes the concentrated reduction fishing around the Mississippi River Delta.
5% By-Catch Allowed.
Louisiana currently allows up to 5% by-catch of predator fish in the purse-seine nettings. The reduction fishing industry has been quoted saying that they do their best to keep by-catch under 5%. In 2023 over 950 million pounds of menhaden catch was recorded in the Gulf. At 5% that equals up to 50 MILLION POUNDS of gamefish like Red Drum and Speckled Trout slaughtered needlessly.
Louisiana Politicians accept donations from the reduction industry.
Unfortunately, politicians on both sides of the aisle have been accepting donations from the reduction fishing industry and their lobbyists for many years, The power of money has kept many of them silent. Click on the link and search the name "Omega Protein" in the contributor's box to see who has been receiving payments.
https://www.ethics.la.gov/CampaignFinanceSearch/SearchResultsByContributions.aspx
https://www.ethics.la.gov/CampaignFinanceSearch/SearchResultsByContributions.aspx
The Goals for the Gulf Coast
1. Restrict reduction fishing to Federal waters (U.S. EEZ 3+ miles offshore). Or ban reduction fishing in American waters entirely.
2. Support a healthy menhaden bait fishery. Have the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) and state authorities manage the fishery for maximum abundance, not minimal sustainability.
2. Support a healthy menhaden bait fishery. Have the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) and state authorities manage the fishery for maximum abundance, not minimal sustainability.
