SLS 22RS-1291 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 447
BY SENATOR HENSGENS
FISH/FISHING. Provides for commercial menhaden harvest reporting. (8/1/22)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 56:325.5, relative to the commercial menhaden fishery; to provide for
3 commercial menhaden harvest reporting; to provide for required data; to provide for
4 confidentiality; to provide for reports to legislative committees; to provide for the
5 powers and duties of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission; to provide
6 for a definition; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 56:325.5 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง325.5. Commercial menhaden harvest reporting
10 A. The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance
11 with the Administrative Procedure Act, that requires companies taking
12 menhaden by vessels equipped with purse seines to report monthly, beginning
13 in May 2023, commercial menhaden harvest reports. The rules and regulations
14 shall provide for the following:
15 (1) Monthly reporting shall include the following data for each set:
16 (a) Location data in degrees, minutes, seconds, with a defined datum,
17 determined by global positioning satellite (GPS) navigational instrument
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 447
SLS 22RS-1291 ORIGINAL
1 reading.
2 (b) Estimated weight of harvest.
3 (c) Length of the menhaden estimated based on a sample of the harvest.
4 In addition, the rule shall provide for the size of the sample and the method
5 used to estimate the length.
6 (2) The form, manner, and the date of the month the department receives
7 the monthly report.
8 (3) Procedures to preserve the confidentiality of any data, information,
9 or statistics submitted or collected to comply with federal procedures as set
10 forth by the United States Department of Commerce or its agencies for
11 confidentiality of fishing statistics collected from individuals or firms by the
12 Department of Commerce or its agencies. Any information the department
13 provides to the public shall not indicate the captain, vessel, or company.
14 B. Beginning February 10, 2024, the department shall annually report
15 to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on
16 Natural Resources the commercial menhaden harvest from the prior year based
17 upon the aggregated data from the monthly reports.
18 C. For the purposes of this Section, a "set" means when a purse seine is
19 deployed and encircles a school of menhaden, regardless of whether those fish
20 are reduced to possession by transferring to the mother ship or steamer.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Tyler S. McCloud.
DIGEST
SB 447 Original 2022 Regular Session Hensgens
Proposed law requires the La. Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to promulgates rules and
regulations to require, beginning in May 2023, monthly commercial menhaden harvest
reports.
Proposed law requires the monthly report include for each set the location by GPS, the
estimated weight, and length of the fish harvested. Proposed law requires the rule provide
for the sample size and method to estimate the length.
Proposed law requires the rule provide for the form, manner, and the date of the month the
department receives the report and procedures to preserve the confidentiality Further,
requires any public information not indicate the captain, vessel, or company.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 447
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Proposed law requires, beginning February 10, 2024, the department to annually report to
the oversight committees the commercial menhaden harvest from the prior year based upon
the aggregated data from the monthly reports.
Proposed law provides a "set" means when a purse seine is deployed and encircles a school
of menhaden, regardless of whether those fish are reduced to possession by transferring to
the mother ship or steamer.
(Adds R.S. 56:325.5)
Page 3 of 3
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.