Amendment seeks aid for Louisiana's wild-caught crawfishermen

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Two Louisiana congressmen, Cleo Fields and Clay Higgins, have introduced an amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to support the state's wild-caught crawfishermen during disaster relief.

The proposed amendment seeks to expand fishery disaster relief programs to include wild-caught crawfish, which currently do not qualify for disaster assistance under existing U.S. Department of Agriculture or Magnuson-Stevens Act provisions. This change would allow the Secretary of Commerce to declare a fishery disaster for red swamp crawfish and white river crawfish, providing relief in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

"Wild-caught crawfish, it's not a farm product. It's not a traditional fishery product. It's caught in freshwater really on land but in waters that traditionally certainly in D.C. they don't understand." Congressman Clay Higgins said.

Higgins noted that the bill aims to address this oversight by including the Atchafalaya Basin's crawfishermen in existing disaster relief frameworks. Higgins commented on how when looking at the bigger picture, the seven hundred fifty thousand constituents in Louisiana's 3rd District spread across eleven parishes and over three hundred millions citizens nationwide, he wanted to help create meaningful change.

"It's bigger than just helping the wild caught crawfishermen. It recognizes the uniqueness and special position that every American family and every American industry represents, that makes our country strong and great." Higgins said.

The amendment to include wild-caught crawfish in disaster relief programs represents a significant step in supporting Louisiana's unique fishing industry. By addressing this gap, Fields and Higgins aim to provide much-needed assistance to crawfishermen affected by environmental and economic challenges.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.