Louisiana catches about 1 billion pounds of seafood every year for commercial sale, and with the demand for local seafood at an all-time high, we rely on our nation's fishery management process to ensure sustainable fisheries. Louisiana restaurants rely on locally sourced, sustainably managed seafood. Close to 70 percent of seafood harvested off the Gulf Coast is landed in Louisiana. Chances are your delicious plate of red snapper is from one of our many locally run Gulf fisheries.
Restaurants currently account for 203,100 jobs in the state — 10 percent of private sector employment. For every $1 million spent in Louisiana's restaurants, 24.6 jobs are created. Tremendous tax revenues are produced, leading to schools built, roads maintained, and taxpayers saving a little extra. Preserving access to the resources that keep this billion-dollar economic engine running is imperative to Louisiana's bottom line, and red snapper is a big part of that.
The fishing industry around New Orleans has had its challenges. Depleted fish stocks affected the livelihoods of the family-owned vessels committed to providing the public with a sustainable source of domestically caught seafood. Thanks to the standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), commercial fishing is in a better place than it has been in decades. Signed into law in 1976, the MSA governs fisheries in U.S. federal waters. Its management prevents overfishing and rebuilds fish stocks, helping to strengthen the value of fisheries to the economy.
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