KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Shrimp harvests in Calcasieu Basin dropped 50% in 2024, threatening local fishermen’s livelihoods.

Fishermen attribute decline to LNG terminals , pollution, and increased industrial activity.

Venture Global plans two more LNG terminals, raising concerns about dredging , noise, and ship traffic.

Environmental groups and state agencies continue monitoring impacts, with lawsuits and advocacy efforts ongoing.

Ray Mallett started fishing near the mouth of the Calcasieu River more than half a century ago as part of the “mosquito fleet,” a ragtag group of kids that plied the surrounding rivers and bayous in small motorboats in search of crabs.

A Gulf Coast fisherman like his father before him, Mallett harvested shrimp for decades from an estuary in Southwest Louisiana

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