LCPA News Release June 20, 2001

LCPA would like to thank all the members for their support. We have grown to over 500 members. Board members have been meeting weekly keeping up with legislative bills and other problems (recruiting membership support, trying to get our 30% of water passed in the basin, Wildlife and Fisheries harassment of fishermen for traps mesh size, problem of low prices for crawfish being paid to fishermen). We've traveled to Baton Rouge often to attend Senate Committee meetings with good results. Bill 421 was killed in the House and Bill 1381 was killed in the Senate. These two bills would have hurt anyone who goes in the basin. House Bill 1696 passed and is awaiting the governor's signature. This bill gives the state, management of all waterbottoms and boundaries will have to be addressed. This bill is good for all basin enthusiasts. We think our senator, Craig Romero, has stepped us to do the right thing for the people of our state. He's been showing us the ropes at our state capitol. Thank you Sen. Romero for all the help, but we still have a long way to go. We're setting up meetings with representatives of the Corps of Engineers, LCPA - WEST board members, and Sen. Romero. We don't think we're getting our share of the Mississippi River down the Atchafalaya River and we want to solve the problem. Lack of water has crippled the fisheries in basin. The marshes down below are also suffering. We think the corps is focused on other interests. We're also setting up a meeting with Parish District attorney Phil Haney and Col. Winton Vidrine of La. Wildlife and Fisheries. A few fishermen were being harassed recently for allegedly fishing illegal mesh size crawfish traps. Three years ago, the wire was approved by Rep. Sydnie Mae Durand and Col. Vidrine. Now, Wildlife and Fisheries is saying the wire is illegal. We don't think Wildlife and Fisheries is acting in the best interest of the fishermen and this problem needs to be addressed.

Last week, LCPA - WEST board members attended meetings in Bayou Pigeon and Belle River concerning the price drop ($.75 to $.50) LCPA - West picked up 100 new members. Most of the fishermen agreed that we couldn't make it at $.50. No one was told to go on strike. This was a rumor started to put another ugly mark on the fishermen. The fishermen who couldn't make it at $.50 decided to stay home. How can you go on strike when you're self employed? Excuses for the price drop were, flooding in Houston and New Orleans and over abundance of crawfish on the market. One plant owner even said it was (June), the time of the year for the price to go down. Sounds like they're running out of excuses. The price of bait and gas doesn't go down. With crawfish wholesale prices at $2.25 (live) and retail prices at $3.50 (live) in New Orleans, the fishermen shouldn't have to fish for nothing. We have the product and we can control our own destiny. Most buyers came back up to $.75. Maybe next time we'll have more support. Anyway, we're still working hard for you and we'll try to keep you updated on our progress. We can't fix it over night but with your support, we can bring our industry back to life. We're not going to go away.

LCPA - WEST PRESIDENT Mike Bienvenu