New 1-Mile Pogey Boat Buffer Exhibits Promising Outcomes

After an estimated 2.5 million pounds of dead fish were recorded in 2023 off the coast of Louisiana, 2024 looks promising with a noticeable drop in fish spills.

In February of this year, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission unanimously passed an emergency regulation that created a 1-mile buffer zone off the coast of LA. This restricted Menhaden (Pogey) Boats from using their nets in the shallow water, where hundreds of redfish fall victim to the nets. The switch from 1/4-mile to a mile seems to be working, according to Chris Macaluso of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

An analysis from over a decade of fisheries data by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership shows that the recently created near-shore, no-fishing buffers in Louisiana may be reducing the number of pogies spilled from the industrial harvest of this ecologically valuable baitfish – to a mere quarter of the historical average.

“This data indicates that the efforts to move the industrial pogy boats into deeper waters to protect nearshore, shallow habitat is paying off,” said Macaluso, director of the Center for Marine Fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Few things anger and disgust anglers and beachgoers in Louisiana more than seeing rafts of dead pogies and other fish left by the menhaden reduction industry floating nearshore or washed up on beaches. This year, we have seen far fewer of these spills and anglers have also noted an increase in nearshore forage like pogies, mullet, and other fish.”

While there are still a few months left in 2024, the numbers are showing that only 0.3 million or 300,000 pounds of dead fish have been recorded off the coast so far this year. This data was gathered by examining public records for fish spills kept by LWDF. The department started keeping records in 2013, and after comparing the numbers, 2024 looks as if it is shaping up to be the second-lowest number of fish spilled since 2013.

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Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award winning outdoor journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outdoor column for the Slidell Independent Newspaper. He also writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Commission’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He is the former host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Show and is on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Keith contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and prides himself on promoting South Louisiana’s unique fishery. To contact Keith email: [email protected]