Texas boats fishing Louisiana reefs

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Louisiana oystermen say too many boats from Texas are using their oyster reefs just as the industry is beginning to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

The turf battle has sparked a free-trade and property-rights debate with many Louisiana oystermen saying boats from out of state put the industry's future at risk, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Sunday.

"They worry about what they can get today. They don't worry about tomorrow," said John Mejia, a Louisiana oysterman for 28 years.

Texas enacted a ban on new oyster licenses in 2005, which has driven more of its boats to Louisiana's 2,500 square miles of public oyster reefs south of New Orleans, reported The Times-Picayune.

A new Louisiana state law bans anyone who bought a state fishing license after May 2007 from harvesting at the state's public oyster grounds.

The law has had the effect of shutting out new Louisiana fishermen who want to harvest oysters while letting Texas boats that had licenses continue to take from the reefs, The Times-Picayune reported.