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April 3, 2013
A local state senator’s bid to outlaw the sale or possession of red snapper in Louisiana waters or anywhere in the state is drawing criticism and a lot of question marks.
State Sen. Bret Allain (R-Jeanerette) said he introduced his bill, SB 157, in response to a temporary federal rule that has cut down Louisiana’s red snapper recreational fishery to nine days. That federal rule has been roundly criticized in fishery circles for being punitive because of Louisiana’s refusal to comply with a related rule.
“If NOAA Fisheries believes the situation in Louisiana is so dire that its citizens can only fish for nine days, then we should take drastic steps to help our state’s fisheries recover more quickly,” Allain said in a statement issued Monday night. “I propose that until such time that the fisheries and season return to a more normal level, the harvest, the sale, or the transportation for sale of red snapper should be prohibited in Louisiana and her waters.”
Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary do not have a strong snapper fishery, although some boats do go out to deep waters to catch them.
Several fish houses, like Danny Babin’s Gulf Fish on La. 311, traffic heavily in snapper. And local restaurants offer it on their menus.
Because of seasonal issues with commercially harvesting snapper it is not always available.
Local restaurants often offer it as a chef’s special.
In New Orleans, at Brennan’s Redfish Grill on Bourbon Street, manager Holly Freeman said snapper is a favorite of hers.
“We don’t carry it on a menu all the time but absolutely it is a delicious fish,” Freeman said. “A lot of people like it and it’s local, it comes from waters in the Gulf.”
Recent indications are that red snapper, which tend to live in deeper Gulf of Mexico waters, are returning after a down-slide, said Harlan Pierce, a member of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, who owns a fish house in Kenner.
Like others involved with local fishing issues, Pierce said he is certain Allain’s bill is a gesture, intended perhaps to force a dialogue with NOAA. But he and others said they don’t see a red snapper ban as the way to go about it.
“Closing the commercial sector has nothing to do with what’s been going on here, other than to hurt more Louisiana fishermen and Louisiana businesses,” Pierce said Monday night. He also questioned whether the Legislature even has the ability to do this legally.
“I don’t know if they can when they are dealing with interstate commerce,” Pierce said. “If you catch a fish in the Gulf you should be able to land it anywhere, snappers are rebuilding.”
The Louisiana Restaurant Association and several harvester organizations said they were reviewing Allain’s bill and would not immediately comment.
Pierce, a former chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said Allain’s bill should be looked at not just in terms of snapper, but what such a law, without proper study, could mean to other commercially harvested species by way of precedent.
“Our citizens deserve access to the fish that they own,” Pierce said.
“How do you tell our restaurants, our tourists, no to that? That is all one package. Deteriorate that package and you deteriorate the ability of Louisiana to do its job. Snapper might be the word today but it could be amberjack tomorrow.”
Allain says he is hopeful that federal officials will join in the discussion on the bill, particularly as it relates to Louisiana’s 9-day recreational season.
Pierce and other critics of the bill, however, say that’s hardly the way to get federal attention.
Allain said no one is more disheartened than himself that such a drastic measure as his bill is necessary.
“Since I was a young child, I have enjoyed snapper at our local restaurants and fishing for them with my father,” the senator said. “I couldn’t imagine not having this resource available for future generations of Louisianans, and I will do everything in my power to restore the snapper fisheries as soon as possible for everyone to enjoy.”
In 2011 Louisiana commercial fishermen caught 416.6 metric tons, or 918,335 pounds of red snapper, according to NOAA’s most recent statistics. The value of the catch for that year was more than $2.26 million.
