With news of more large-scale fish dumps in coastal Louisiana waters in recent weeks, advocates are calling for more regulations on the menhaden industry.

Three large commercial fishing nets were dumped in waters off Cameron Parish in separate incidents between Sept. 11 and 14, resulting in an estimated 850,000 dead menhaden, also known as pogies, along with other species of bycatch. This comes one year after a similar incident when a pogie boat cut loose a net containing nearly 1 million fish and set it adrift in the same waters.

David Cresson, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana, said with locals again seeing large amounts of dead fish washed up on area beaches, the scale and effects of industrial harvest demand more regulation.

"They set these nets 10 or 12,000 times a year," Cresson explained. "They catch a billion pounds of pogies, tens of millions of pounds of bycatch. So, what we saw from September 11th to September 15, was just a tiny glimpse of what's really going on all year long."

Two foreign owned commercial operators, Daybrook Fisheries and Omega Protein, are responsible for the dumps, which state officials cited for failing to report the incident within the permitted time. Neither company responded to a request for comment.

Menhaden are small baitfish harvested for use in a number of products, but in the wild are the basic forage fish for many species. Larger fish following menhaden to feed are often caught in purse seine nets as bycatch. Cresson noted other finfish affected include Red Drum, Speckled Trout, Croakers and Jack Crevalle, but he added it does not stop there.

"It is a long list of species, not just fish by the way, marine mammals, birds, and plenty of other fish and wildlife are impacted by this style of harvest," Cresson outlined. "It's a very industrialized style of harvest that's not allowed anywhere else in the Gulf of Mexico as close to the shores as we allow it in Louisiana."

A quarter-mile buffer zone went into effect across the Louisiana coast this year, but it is the narrowest buffer among the nearby Gulf states. Advocates originally argued for a 1-mile buffer zone citing the need to protect habitat and spawning areas as pogie boats disturb the seafloor when fishing in shallow waters.

Chris Macaluso, director of the Center for Marine Fisheries at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said the 1-mile buffer zone makes sense.

"It's not just some random effort to penalize a company," Macaluso pointed out. "It's an effort to protect shallow water habitat and minimize the impact of dragging those nets along the bottom, of the boats going into those shallow waters, and also to protect the fish that are in that close-in range."

He stressed a scientifically-based catch limit is also needed to help ensure the long-term viability of the Louisiana fishery.

New England fishermen and environmental groups are working to prevent the growth of industrial-size fish farms in U.S. open waters.

They said federal legislation known as the "AQUAA Act" would permit so-called "floating feedlots" similar to land-based dairy and poultry farms, known to use heavy amounts of pesticides and antibiotics.

James Mitchell, legislative director for the advocacy group Don't Cage Our Oceans, said there is no way to contain the chemicals or tons of untreated fish waste created.

"In fact, the whole reason for it is to rely on Mother Nature for its ecosystem services, to wash away the pollutants from the fish themselves so that they don't go belly up," Mitchell pointed out.

Backers of large-scale aquaculture argued it is needed to feed the world but studies show such farms often produce fewer fish than the number of wild fish taken from the ocean to make fish food.

Maine's abundant coastline and history of working waterfronts make it an ideal place for an aquaculture business, and numerous small-scale shellfish and marine plant farms are boosting local economies. But commercial fishermen say the growth of large, foreign-owned fish farms endangers both the ocean and their livelihoods.

Jason Jarvis, commercial fisherman and board president of the North American Marine Alliance, said aquaculture should be locally owned and low-impact.

"I think if we had multiple, small-scale aquaponics systems -- compared to large, industrial-size aquaculture -- I mean, it's a big difference in who benefits and how you benefit," Jarvis explained.

Jarvis noted it is the small- and medium-scale fishermen feeding their communities who keep working waterfronts alive. He added there is no guarantee in the AQUAA Act farm-raised fish would stay in the U.S., which already imports more than 90% of the seafood it consumes.

A working group convened by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife meets today to consider a partial closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season, amid concerns too many whales and sea turtles are getting tangled up in the crab gear.

The ropes, which run from crab traps on the seafloor up to a buoy on the surface can become twisted around an animal's body. Last year, the gear entangled at least five humpback whales and killed a critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle.

Andrea Treece, senior attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit public-interest environmental law organization, detailed the concerns.

"We leave too much gear on the water too late in the season, we wait until the risk is elevated," Treece pointed out. "Too often, it's too late to protect those whales. And so we need to really learn our lesson from the past."

The danger is greatest in the spring, summer and fall, when humpback whales migrate to California from Mexico and South America. The Department of Fish and Wildlife's risk assessment team is recommending the commercial fishery close April 5 south of the Sonoma/Mendocino County line, and would restrict the depth at which the crab traps can be set in northern California waters.

Treece thinks the department should announce a statewide closure as soon as possible, as it will take weeks to retrieve the gear and whales can quickly move north into areas with a lot of gear still in the water. She added a new type of ropeless gear is being tested, which could make a big difference once it is approved for use.

"We could be looking at a future where this fishery has to operate between January and March," Treece noted. "With a thoughtful transition to ropeless gear, we could be looking at a future where the fishery is operating for its full season."

A new public service announcement from the nonprofit Oceana includes video of a humpback whale filmed in 2022, entangled in ropes. The whale swam more than 1,000 miles, dragging the discarded crab gear for a year before it was discovered.


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A new bill aims to reduce the number of sea lions, sharks, rays, skates and giant sea bass dying off the coast of Southern California in huge set gillnets the size of 20 football fields, weighted to the sea floor.

Right now, set gillnets are banned in most state waters and Assembly Bill 2220 would extend the ban to a 3-mile radius around the Channel Islands.

Caitlynn Birch, Pacific marine scientist for Oceana, said the bill also stops crews profiting from certain species accidentally caught in the nets.

"It will remove the exemption that allows set gill net fisheries to incidentally catch and sell great white sharks and giant sea bass, which are both protected species and not allowed to take commercially or recreationally for any other fisheries in California," Birch pointed out.

Opponents cited concerns about the effect on fishing crews' bottom line. About 30 fishermen still have active set gillnet permits in Southern California. The state has stopped issuing new permits and the bill would make existing permits nontransferable.

The bill would also give the California Department of Fish and Wildlife the authority to require independent monitors on fishing boats but would not make them mandatory. Right now it is up to fishing crews to self-report when they accidentally catch a protected species.

"Having the authority to place third-party observers on vessels would allow for the collection of unbiased data on specifically bycatch, which is being thrown overboard at sea and isn't otherwise able to be tracked," Birch explained.

Supporters contended more selective hook and line fishing methods have significantly less bycatch and typically yield higher prices for fish considered better quality seafood.