January 21st, 2026
To:
Jason Adriance, Fisheries Division
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
P.O. Box 98000
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000
Dear Mr. Adriance and Whom Else It May Concern,
This comment pertains to the proposed coastal buffer for Gulf menhaden harvesting in Louisiana and debate concerning the size of such a buffer. I am an anthropologist who has been conducting ethnographic research in Lower Plaquemines Parish since 2017. In essence, my position is that menhaden harvesting regulations must balance ecological concerns with the potential negative impacts to coastal communities and their socioeconomic systems. It would be arrogant of me to presume that I have the precise “right answer” in terms of what such a balance must be. However, I would point out that the debate so far has largely overlooked the role of the menhaden industry, and the regulation thereof, among coastal communities that are already existentially threatened by a wide range of human and natural forces.
On the one hand, I share the widespread concerns about the ecological impacts of menhaden harvesting. I grasp—and have seen firsthand—the kinds of damage that menhaden harvesting can do to fisheries and the delicate coastal marsh ecosystems in which they occur. Some amount of regulation of the menhaden fishing industry, including potentially a coastal buffer of some size, may well be appropriate. I also hold my own concerns about the extraction of local resources for the profits of multinational corporations, the conditions of labor involved in the industry, etc.
On the other hand, I feel strongly that any deliberations about these and future regulations should take into consideration the wellbeing of coastal communities, such as those supported by the menhaden fishing vessel fleet and processing facility located in Empire. Above all, one could imagine a scenario in which the menhaden fishing industry was piecemeal regulated out of existence. This would be devastating for coastal communities, such as those in Lower Plaquemines Parish. This is why I have found strong support for the menhaden industry among local populations despite significant overlapping environmental concerns.
Furthermore, I have found that increased regulations often have unintended consequences in terms of the interactions of coastal fishing communities and their environments. Pushing fishers out of the menhaden harvesting fleet would almost certainly lead to the intensification of other commercial fishing activities, which would likely hold unanticipated negative environmental consequences. Participation in menhaden harvesting has provided alternative opportunities for small-scale (household-level) commercial fishers (mostly involved in the shrimp and oyster industries), which amounts to flexibility in being able to adapt to negative conditions or personal misfortune. Without that flexibility, commercial fishers would have no choice but to do more commercial fishing and do so more intensively.
Additionally, the elimination of the menhaden industry would likely also lead to the intensification of fishing at the subsistence level, which (as I have found) impacts stocks of culturally valued species, such as redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) and speckled trout (Cynoscion nebulosus). For example, I have found a strong negative correlation between the number of commercial fishing license holders and recreational/subsistence redfish landings as reported by the Louisiana Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. I have also witnessed subsistence fishing activities undertaken by struggling commercial fishers in which redfish were taken and consumed. In other words, the more coastal fishers are forced out of commercial fishing activities, the more redfish they end up catching and eating.
Finally, I fear that this situation is yet again a manifestation of conflict pitting the interests of sport fishing and environmental groups against those of commercial fishers and coastal communities. In past conflicts, affluent and influential sport fishing and environmental groups have overwhelmed the voices of coastal communities. From my point of view, not only are such efforts ethically problematic, they are also ineffective relative to the sport fishing and conservation goals at which they are aimed. Only through a holistic consideration of the wellbeing of coastal communities and the small-scale commercial fishers that comprise them can both wise and fair fishing regulation be achieved.
Sincerely,
Grant S. McCall
Executive Director and Chief Research Scientist
Center for Human-Environmental Research (CHER)
mccall@cherscience.org