Senate committee backs requirement for AIS on commercial menhaden vessels

The Senate Committee on Natural Resources on April 29 reported House Bill 8 72 favorably as amended, a bill that would require commercial menhaden reduction vessels to carry and use an automatic identification system (AIS) when fishing, with an effective date set for April 19, 2027.

Representative Zirang, the bill’s author, said the measure “requires all boats within the menhaden industry … to utilize and have an AIS system on board.” The committee adopted amendment set 2907, which applies the AIS requirement to both carrier and purse vessels when fishing, requires at least two cooperating vessels in a set to have functioning AIS units, and allows two business days to repair or replace a nonfunctioning unit.

The amendment was framed as a compromise between enforcement needs and operational realities on the Gulf. Rick Owens of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, testifying in support, told the committee, “We’re happy to support these these bills,” and Rad Trasher of CCA Louisiana said the change could help “cool down the rhetoric” by making whereabouts and compliance easier to verify. Chris Macaluso of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership said the requirement could reduce conflicts between net boats and other vessels by making positions verifiable in public data.

Supporters said the requirement would help enforcement and provide transparency while the amendment’s repair window and the two-vessel functioning threshold would give operators time to remedy equipment failures without shutting down sets. Representative Zirang said he intends to carry the bill on the floor and work with colleagues on any remaining language.

The committee reported the bill favorably as amended by unanimous consent; no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript. The bill proceeds to the Senate floor for further consideration and possible additional amendments.