The state of Louisiana has more offshore petroleum platforms than all other states combined. The adverse environmental impact of these offshore "rigs" and their attendant operations is minimal, despite claims to the contrary by certain environmentalists, congressmen, and citizens.

Every day, many fishermen and divers leave the coastal Louisiana area and venture offshore to take advantage of some of the finest fishing and most interesting diving in the United States. Almost without exception, these fishermen and divers go to rig platforms because of the concentration of marine life near these structures.

Offshore platforms not only favor fishing because they provide food and shelter for marine life, but also offer protection to the recreationalist should a boat break down or severe weather endanger him, and give navigational aid to the mariner. The offshore petroleum industry has created these unique features in the Gulf of Mexico. Burning flares, abandoned platform locations, working rig sites, underwater completion installations, buried pipelines along the Gulf floor, and underwater vents which allow volatiles to bubble to the surface attract concentrations of, and become havens for, fish.

Both commercial and sport fishing have increased in the Gulf since the offshore petroleum industry was born in 1947 off Grand Isle, Louisiana. Gulf Coast fish tonnage doubled from 1940 to 1950 and again from 1950 to 1960. The tonnage increased 31 percent from 1960 to 1970. Louisiana, with her offshore platforms, has supplied the bulk of the fish production over the past five years--1969 through 1973--Louisiana's contribution to the total Gulf catch has ranged between 62 and 67 percent. Converted to percentage of total United States fish input for the same period, Louisiana has supplied between 21 and 28 percent of the entire United States catch of commercial fish.

No state surpasses Louisiana's annual catch. Because of its large fish concentration, offshore Louisiana is a growing attraction for fishing vessels from other states and nations too. Louisiana's fishing waters are so rich that new fisheries have been created for the United States. The Gulf trawl fishery for large croakers is one example.

Drilling production has not harmed permanently the marine life off the Louisiana coast, or the environment in which this life flourished. The petroleum industry is striving to insure that it can continue to make this claim.

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