Provides for the menhaden fishery. (8/1/26) (OR SEE FISC NOTE SD RV)

Senate Bill 186 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 56:324 to establish an annual catch limit for commercial menhaden reduction fishing in Louisiana territorial waters. The bill adds a new subsection A to the statute that caps the total commercial menhaden catch at 315 million pounds per year for all commercial menhaden companies operating vessels equipped with purse seines for reduction fishing purposes within Louisiana territorial waters. The existing restriction in current law, now codified as subsection B, remains unchanged and continues to prohibit anyone legally taking menhaden from possessing more than five percent by weight of any species of fish other than menhaden and herring-like species. The amendment becomes effective on August 1, 2026.

The primary impact of this legislation falls on commercial menhaden fishing companies operating reduction fishing vessels with purse seines in Louisiana waters. These companies will be subject to a statewide annual aggregate limit of 315 million pounds, meaning the total catch across all reduction fishing operations cannot exceed this threshold. This creates a restriction-based management system that could affect how individual companies allocate or compete for their share of the total allowable catch during each fishing year. The bill does not establish individual company quotas or allocation mechanisms, leaving questions about how the overall limit will be distributed among multiple operators or enforced when approached.

This amendment operates within Louisiana's existing fisheries regulatory framework under Title 56 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which grants the state authority to regulate fish and wildlife resources within state territorial waters. The provision complements rather than replaces the existing bycatch restriction regarding non-menhaden species possession. The annual catch cap approach represents a conservation measure typically employed under fisheries management principles and aligns with federal and state coordination on migratory species management, as menhaden are subject to interstate management considerations through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.