Atchafalaya fishermen plead their case before lawmakers

BATON ROUGE – Over the passionate objection of harvesters of crawfish, the Senate Natural Resources Committee adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 approved the annual FY17-18 plan for funding the Atchafalaya Basin.
Local fishermen, including crawfish fishermen, adamantly disapprove of the project, saying it is not the way to combat the sediment buildup in the Basin that is impacting crawfish harvests.
They say the plan, including its resulting sedimentation, will mitigate targeted coastal issues for the short-term, but be detrimental in the long-term. Fishermen want to remove some of the Basin’s interior banks and to open up natural tributaries, which they say could help the water’s natural ebb and flow.
Sponsor Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales, argued the project actually accomplishes what the fishermen want and allows more freshwater into the area.
The Legislature can only approve or kill the plan. It is not allowed to change or tweak it.
The committee also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 67 by Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, requesting Congress to give Louisiana official management over a large portion — about 200 miles off the state coast — of the red snapper waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Allain said Louisiana sportsman received the unprecedented news that they were only allowed up to three days for snapper fishing this year.
Allain, who said he grew up fishing year-round, said the dwindling window suggests federal and state mismanagement of the sports fishing community over the last few years.