Over the summer, commercial menhaden vessels were caught on video netting within a half-mile of the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana – despite regulations adopted in 2024 mandating that pogy boats in the Gulf cannot operate within a half-mile of the coast. One billion pounds of menhaden are harvested each year from the Gulf by foreign-owned companies. The menhaden industry hurts coastal ecosystems and economies in many ways: depleting waters of forage fish that redfish, tarpon, and other species

This video shows commercial menhaden vessels netting within a half-mile of the Chandeleur Islands off the coast of Louisiana. New regulations adopted in 2024 mandated that pogy boats in the Gulf cannot operate within a half mile of the coast, but anglers are seeing a very different story on the water. Roughly 1 billion pounds of menhaden are harvested each year from the Gulf by foreign-owned companies. The menhaden industry negatively impacts coastal ecosystems in myriad ways, including: the dep