Bait Fishery

The bait fishery for menhaden has historically accounted for only a minute portion of the total landings of gulf menhaden. Through the mid-1980s, the bait fishery for menhaden occurred almost exclusively along the Florida Panhandle and in and around Tampa Bay. Louisiana and Alabama began landing menhaden for bait in 1984.  Louisiana's landings for bait increased substantially through the mid to late 1980s. Neither Mississippi nor Texas has recorded commercial bait production in recent years. Through the 1990s, two bait companies in Morgan City and Cameron, Louisiana, were responsible for a majority of the gulf menhaden landings for bait in the central northern Gulf.

The current menhaden bait fishery is primarily conducted along the Florida Panhandle, Louisiana, and Alabama, although the gear used in these areas is quite different. Historically in Florida, menhaden were primarily caught using  purse seines about 2,000 feet in length fished from boats 35 to 65 feet long. Currently, there are approximately ten purse-seine boats operating on the west coast of Florida outside the three mile limit.  The Florida net-ban in July 1995, banned all gill/entangling nets and any nets greater than 500 square feet from state waters.  In response, a new gear (tarp net) was authorized under an experimental permit for three years.  That permit was allowed to expire without renewal and tarp nets are no longer allowed in Florida.

In Louisiana, menhaden are caught for bait generally using the same type gear, vessels, and methods as the reduction fishery. Although some bait is sold fresh at dockside, most is frozen and trucked throughout the Gulf region. There is little published information about the markets for gulf menhaden bait. No doubt the majority is used in the blue crab and crawfish fisheries. Smaller quantities are probably used as chum or bait by sport fishermen. In the Gulf, small amounts of menhaden are also caught with other gear, e.g., gill nets and trawls.

Like Louisiana, purse-seine boats operate in a portion of Alabama’s jurisdictional waters and the waters off Alabama, particularly in waters off the western coastline.  However, the number of boats operating off Alabama has decreased in recent years when compared to the late 1980s.  Alabama’s gill net fishery contributes a substantial amount towards the total yearly menhaden landings averaging over 1.5 million pounds in recent years.  Although there is a lack of published data on the gulf menhaden bait fishery, it is probable that the majority of Alabama’s menhaden are used as bait for the blue crab fishery.  Menhaden are also used commercially by long-line and hook and line fishermen as bait and chum for red snapper, grouper, and other reef fishes.  In the recreational fishery, menhaden are used for bait and chum by sport fishermen and the charter boat industry.