BATON ROUGE (AP) — The Louisiana House and Senate have both agreed to lift a ban that keeps state wildlife officials from enforcing federal laws that require shrimp nets to include escape hatches for sea turtles.
A 36-0 vote Thursday from the Senate moved the proposal — sponsored by Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill, a Democrat from Dry Creek — one step from final legislative passage.
Supporters of the bill say some big-box retailers have boycotted Louisiana shrimp because they object to the law being on the books and raised concerns about the state's handling of protections for endangered sea turtles.
Sen. Norby Chabert, a Houma Republican who handled the bill in the Senate, described the measure as "doing all we can for our fishermen."
