BATON ROUGE (Louisiana Illuminator) — Another tense showdown could be in the works between recreational fishermen and those who make a living on the waters off the Louisiana coast in the menhaden industry.

Members of Louisiana’s Finfish Task Force, an advisory panel for the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and other state agencies, met Thursday and unanimously recommended the state keep in place rules that limit how far commercial menhaden fishing vessels are kept from shore.

The recommendation came in response to a request from the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission last month to explore changes to the menhaden buffer zone, a source of high controversy between sport fishers and the commercial fishing industry.

Menhaden, also known as pogie, is a bony, oily fish used primarily to make pet food, fish oil supplements and fertilizer. Anywhere from 600 million to 900 million are caught annually in the Gulf of Mexico, making it the most harvested fish off the Louisiana coast.

The commission decided in 2024 to require menhaden fishers to keep at least a half-mile away from designated lines drawn around Louisiana’s coast. The rule was created to reduce spills of dead fish, protect marine habitat and reduce bycatch. Recreational anglers have been most concerned about the unintentional trapping of other species, such as speckled trout or redfish, in the nets of menhaden boats.

During the final minutes of its October meeting, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission announced it would revisit the rule. What exact changes are under consideration has not been made public, though the expectation is some areas of the buffer zone could be reduced to allow commercial menhaden harvesting closer to the coast.

State biologist Jason Adriance said at the task force meeting that Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Chairman Kevin Segrera, a commercial alligator and fur hunter, directed the department to “review some historical industry fishing grounds” and consider modifying the buffer zone with those areas of the coast in mind.

“The directive was to get with industry [and] review some areas of historical significance,” Adriance said, without specifying the locations.

Adriance said he has received input from commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and the public about the buffer zone. This information has been provided to the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, which will consider whether to update the menhaden fishing rules when it meets Thursday.

Task force members questioned the need to update the buffer rules, which were approved last year through a hard-fought compromise between sport fishers and the menhaden industry.

“We just put in a half-mile buffer. We wanted a one-mile buffer, [but we] made a compromise. Everybody was OK with the compromise,” said Task Force member David Alphonso, representing the Louisiana Charter Boat Association.

Task force chairman Benjamin Graham and member George Huye, representing the Louisiana Coastal Conservation Association, both said there are minimal regulations in place for the menhaden industry, and that justifies keeping the half-mile buffer zone in place.

“For 80 years, they had essentially zero regulation,” Graham.

There is a percentage limit on the amount of bycatch menhaden harvesters are allowed based on their total catch. But because there are no limits on how much menhaden they can net, Huye said the bycatch provision is a fluid number.

“If you have an unlimited total, then that 5% is a number that can move with every year,” he said.

Should the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approve changes to the menhaden regulations, a public comment period would open after publication in the December state register, which Adriance said would likely remain open until Jan. 23, for more feedback on the proposal. The commission would then take the comments into consideration before a final vote on the changes.