The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced plans to purchase $20 million in wild-caught American shrimp through its Section 32 program.
This will be the first USDA purchase of warm water, wild-caught shrimp in more than a year, bringing much-needed demand at a time when Gulf shrimpers are facing extremely low dock prices, high operating costs, and continued pressure from imported farm-raised shrimp, according to the Louisiana Shrimp Association.
Read MoreFew agricultural success stories are more uniquely Louisiana than the remarkable growth of crawfish farming. What began as a relatively small agricultural enterprise has evolved into a major contributor to the state’s economy. Amazingly, Louisiana now produces an estimated 90 to 95 percent of the nation’s crawfish! I was fortunate to witness and participate in part of that transformational growth during my early career with the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.
Read MoreCrawfish is part of our culture in South Louisiana, and Abbeville High School is educating its students about the industry by using a pond on its campus.
If you're from Acadiana, you already know that the crawfish industry is huge across our region, and many farmers in our area make great money by harvesting crawfish.
Read MoreEarlier in 2026, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved rules to establish a recreational alligator hunting season. And soon, you'll be able to apply for tags via a lottery system.
Read MoreGrand Isle is set to take center stage on the national television screen later this month. The 2026 Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open, presented by Visit Jefferson Parish, is bringing national broadcast coverage to Grand Isle for the first time in its history. ESPN+ will broadcast the four-day offshore fishing tournament live from August 28–30, culminating in a nationally televised recap show airing on ESPN2 over Labor Day Weekend.
Read MoreLDWF closed the private recreational Red Snapper season in state and federal waters off the Louisiana coast earlier this month, but there is a hope there will be another Red Snapper fishing opportunity again this summer. LDWF assistant secretary Ryan Montague says the season had to close because Louisiana is approaching its statewide quota, but LA creel is still counting what was caught during the first week of August.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Shrimp Task Force has announced that their upcoming meeting will be held locally in downtown Houma. The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
The Task Force Meeting will take place Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library. The address is 151 Library Drive in Houma.
Read MoreAccording to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States imported more than $25 billion worth of seafood last year, making it one of the world’s largest seafood importers. Domestic shrimpers like Acy Cooper say that volume of imports has made it harder to compete.
Read MoreAccording to state wildlife and fisheries agents, more than 71% of Louisiana's 2026 annual private recreational allocation of red snapper has been caught.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) issued a statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2715, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act.
Congressman Higgins and Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA) introduced the legislation in April 2025. The bill would authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to destroy imported products that pose significant health risks.
Read MoreLouisiana’s $2.4 billion seafood industry is growing despite constant competition from international products, and a partnership between Tulane Hospitality and the Audubon Nature Institute is working to keep Gulf cuisine at the forefront by training the next generation of culinary professionals.
Read MoreThe Southern Shrimp Alliance, joined by the American Shrimp Processors Association, the Catfish Farmers of America, the Crawfish Processors Alliance, and the Crawfish Commodity Committee of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, submitted comments expressing strong support in favor of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) proposal that additional tariffs of 12.5 percent be imposed on imported goods from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam, including seafood, and additional tariffs of 10 percent be imposed on imported merchandise from Ecuador, Indonesia, and Mexico, including seafood.
Read MoreA recent audit of New Orleans restaurants has discovered that the rate of shrimp authenticity has declined over the last year. SeaD Consulting diners ordered shrimp dishes at 44 restaurants, and of those, 11 served imported shrimp. Chief Operating Officer Erin Williams says of those 11, nine of them misrepresented the origins of their shrimp.
Read MoreWhen Lance Nacio started out in the shrimping industry in the late 1990s, he had a bag phone. At the dock, he could get $4 a pound for shrimp, and he paid a lot less for diesel. Today, he has Starlink satellite internet, navigation technology and an iPhone on his shrimping boat, the Anna Marie.
Read MoreState officials will temporarily expand the number of red snapper recreational anglers can take home in Louisiana for the Fourth of July holiday.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will allow those fishing in state coastal waters for red snapper to take home five fish per person per day, increased from the typical four-fish limit, Thursday through Sunday.
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