LDWF News

Jan. 10, 2018 - The Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force meeting scheduled for Thursday (Jan. 11) in Baton Rouge has been postponed and rescheduled for Jan. 18. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Jan. 18 at Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) headquarters in Baton Rouge (2000 Quail Drive) in the Louisiana Room.
 
The task force was created by Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution No. 9 during the 2016 regular session of the state legislature to develop ideas and recommendations to deal with the state’s feral hog problem.
 
For more information on the task force, please contact Dr. Jim LaCour, LDWF Wildlife Veterinarian, at jmlacour@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-2346.

On January 18, 2018, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will be submitting an application to NOAA Fisheries for an exempted fishing permit (EFP). NOAA Fisheries issues these permits to authorize activities, which would otherwise be prohibited by federal fishery regulations, for limited testing, data collection, exploratory fishing, and other purposes. NOAA Fisheries invited the Gulf states to apply for EFPs to lead reef fish management activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
LDWF’s proposed EFP study would test a state-based management approach that would allow recreational harvest of red snapper in both state and federal waters off Louisiana during seasons set by the state. LDWF would monitor landings through Louisiana’s existing recreational landings data collection program (LA Creel) and track fishing at oil and gas platforms, artificial reefs, and natural bottom habitat. Participants would also have the option to test new, voluntary electronic reporting methods. Seasons would be closed when landings approach or reach Louisiana’s recreational quota.
 
Anyone with a Louisiana Saltwater Fishing License and a Recreational Offshore Fishing Permit (ROLP) would be eligible to participate in the study. Participants would be required to indicate their preference to participate in the study via their ROLP account, provide vessel registration information (per federal requirements), and abide by the federal minimum size limit (currently 16 inches) and two fish bag limit.
 
Anglers and for-hire captains who would rather not participate in the EFP study would only be able fish for red snapper in state waters during the open state waters season or in federal waters under regulations set by NOAA Fisheries. However, it should be noted that the 2018 season could be extremely limited, especially in light of NOAA Fisheries request for these EFP applications as well as the extended 2017 recreational red snapper season exceeding the quota.
 
You can read the draft application and related frequently asked questions online. Keep in mind that this application is still in draft form and is subject to change—we would appreciate your feedback on the draft application by Tuesday, January 16, 2018, before we finalize our application for submission. Please send us comments via this form or by simply emailing redsnapper@wlf.la.gov .
 
LDWF will present its final EFP application at the upcoming Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting at the Hyatt Centric French Quarter in New Orleans on January 31, 2018. You can provide feedback in person at the meeting or submit comments to the Gulf Council online. The EFP application will then be published in theFederal Register and made available for public comment for 30 days. Based on public comments, the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator will decide whether or not to approve LDWF’s EFP application.

Jan. 9, 2017 - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will sponsor its 30th Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop on March 23-25, 2018, at Camp Grant Walker in Pollock. It’s an opportunity for women throughout Louisiana and neighboring states to attend an educational hands-on outdoor skills workshop.
 
If you are a woman 18 or older and you enjoy the outdoors, you will love this three-day skill’s workshop.
 
Registration opens Jan. 26, 2018. Anyone interested is urged to register as soon as possible beginning Jan. 26. The $200 fee (check or money order only) includes instruction for four selected classes, program materials, use of demonstration equipment, lodging, meals and a T-shirt.
 
Participants will enroll in four classes from a selection of more than 30 topics. These subjects include bucks and does, shotgun, rifle, handguns, fly-fishing, kayaking, camping, archery, fishing, boating/trailering, compass skills, outdoor photography, camp cooking and more. Expert instructors donate their time and skills in classes taught in and around the nearby streams, lakes, wooded ridges and forest trails of beautiful Louisiana.
 
Natural resource scientist Christine Thomas of the University of Wisconsin founded the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program.  She completed a survey in 1991 entitled ‘Barriers to Women Participating in Hunting and Fishing.’ It documented that the most obvious problem was lack of instruction and encouragement.
 
To receive a registration form, download and print from our web page at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/becoming-outdoors-woman . The forms will not be available until Jan. 26, 2018. They must be returned by mail to the address on the form. Hand delivered forms will not be accepted. Please read the registration process and the course descriptions prior to filling out the form. Registration will be taken until the workshop is full. All forms received after the workshop is full will be placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.
 
For more information contact Dana Norsworthy in Monroe at dnorsworthy@wlf.la.gov, 318-345-3912, Chad Moore in Minden at cmoore@wlf.la.gov, 318-230-4352 or Karen Crabtree at kcrabtree@wlf.la.gov 318-719-4571.
 
Join the fun and be one of those 125 women in the woods. Register for the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop and become skilled in something that you always dreamed about doing. Look us up on Facebook at, BOW Louisiana Style.

Jan. 9, 2017 - The Feral Hog Management Advisory Task Force will meet Thursday (Jan. 11) at 9 a.m. at Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) headquarters in Baton Rouge (2000 Quail Drive) in the Louisiana Room.
 
The task force was created by Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution No. 9 during the 2016 regular session of the state legislature to develop ideas and recommendations to deal with the state’s feral hog problem.
 
For more information on the task force, please contact Dr. Jim LaCour, LDWF Wildlife Veterinarian, at jmlacour@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-2346.

Last week’s temperatures dipping into the 20s and hovering in the low 30s may have caused some people to worry about their vegetation, but for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, it offers a sign of hope in the state’s fight against giant salvinia, an invasive aquatic plant overtaking many of the state’s freshwater systems.
 
Biologists with LDWF hope the freeze will result in a reduction of salvinia this spring and summer, as it did in 2010 when salvinia coverage was drastically reduced following a winter freeze.
 
LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet, who was with state Rep. Gene Reynolds on Saturday at Lake Bistineau, said they saw what appears to be a die back of salvinia on the lake. Lake Bistineau, a popular recreational site in north Louisiana, runs through Webster, Bossier and Bienville parishes.
 
However, significant visible reduction in coverage will not likely occur for a few months due to the amount of time it takes the plant to decompose. The department also notes that although the freezing temperatures may cause some level of die-off, it will not completely eradicate it.
 
Unfortunately, the cold weather may have killed the salvinia weevils brought in to attack the plant. The department will continue to monitor the salvinia weevils to determine the impacts of the freezing temperatures to the population. LDWF plans to have at the ready a new supply of weevils to restock once optimal weather conditions allow later this year. The department will also continue its chemical spray efforts on lakes where growth is present.
 
Giant salvinia, or salvinia molesta, one of the world's most noxious aquatic weeds, is notorious for dominating slow-moving or quiet freshwaters.
 
Its rapid growth, vegetative reproduction and tolerance to environmental stress make it an aggressive and competitive species. It is known to degrade water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms, and to impede boating and swimming which could affect the economy in some areas.

As an arctic blast continues to move across the state, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries would like to warn the public of potential fish kills throughout coastal Louisiana as a result of freezing water temperatures.  

It is still too early to determine what, if any, impact the cooler temperatures may have on fish populations. Many fish that may have been killed by the freeze would still be on the bottom of water bodies, and may not be visible for a week or more.   

Coastal species commonly impacted by low water temperatures are sand seatrout, (a.k.a. "white trout"), red drum, black drum, and spotted seatrout.

“Typically water temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for any more than a day begin to cause problems for spotted seatrout, whereas red drum are slightly more tolerant and will begin to experience problems in the mid-30s,” explained LDWF fisheries biologist Jason Adriance. “The rate at which the water cools is also important. If fish have a chance to acclimate and move, the potential for survival is better.”

More definitive estimates of the effects of the freeze on fish population sizes and distribution within the coastal areas will be available as information is collected through the department’s fishery-independent monitoring programs.  Later, success rates from fishery-dependent monitoring, including both recreational and commercial sampling, will provide an indication of how the changes in population sizes affected the harvest.  

Should you come across significant numbers of dead or dying fish, LDWF encourages you to contact the department. Contact information along with requested reporting specifics, is available here: http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/fish-kills.  Important information to include in your report are your name and phone number in case additional information is needed, along with the location including good directions to the fish kill site, the approximate numbers and species that you saw, and their condition (still dying, all dead, decomposing, etc.).

People should also be aware that legal creel and size limits are in effect, and harvest of fish beyond those limits is illegal.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.

Jan. 5, 2018 - The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) adopted notices of intent for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 hunting seasons, 2018-19 general and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) hunting seasons and rules and regulations, 2019 general and WMA turkey hunting season and rules and regulations, and 2018-19 migratory bird hunting season and rules and regulations at its January meeting Thursday in Baton Rouge.
 
The notices of intent include proposed hunting season dates and regulation changes from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for the upcoming hunting seasons and provide for a public comment period.
 
Some of the proposed changes include:
 
§  Deer Area 9 change in either-sex primitive and modern firearms days. Dates will occur earlier within the normal season framework to facilitate antlerless harvest earlier in the season with the intent to improve sex ratios in advance of breeding. There is no reduction or addition of available hunting days.
§  Move West Feliciana Parish from Deer Area 4 to Area 6. 
§  Prohibition on the use of drones on WMAs. Addition of Small Game Emphasis Area to Tunica Hills WMA.
§  Addition of PCHP wheelchair bound waterfowl blinds on Bayou Pierre and Russell Sage WMAs. 
§  Addition of vessel language for allowable means of camping on WMAs. 
§  Addition of language to clarify where camping can occur on WMAs. 
§  Reduction of available either-sex modern firearm days from 3 to 2 and reduction of primitive firearms bucks only days from 7 to 2 for deer on Attakapas WMA.
§  Allowance for use of yo-yo’s and trot lines for fishing in Big and Chain lakes on Big Lake WMA. 
§  Establishment of Limited Access Areas (LAAs) for the Topan Unit and the Old Waterfowl Refuge on Boeuf WMA, prohibiting the use of motorized vessels. 
§  Reduction of deer youth lottery and PCHP Wheelchair bound opportunity on Buckhorn WMA.
§  Adjustment of dates for primitive weapon deer season on Clear Creek WMA.
§  Grassy Lake WMA reduction of deer either-sex primitive weapon days from 7 to 2 days. 
§  Elimination of antlerless deer harvest on Pass-A-Loutre WMA.
§  Reduction of deer either-sex primitive weapon days from 7 to 2 days on Richard K Yancey WMA.
§  Changing the Joyce WMA deer season structure to run concurrent with Maurepas Swamp WMA deer season.
§  Establishment of LAAs for all waterfowl impoundments EXCEPT Wham Brake on Russell Sage WMA, prohibiting the use of motorized vessels.
§  Adjustment of Sabine WMA deer season(s) to make them later in the season.
§   Increase in the number of deer either-sex days for modern firearms from 5 to14 days on Thistlethwaite WMA.   
§  Adjustment of dates for primitive weapons deer season on West Bay WMA.
§   Addition of a part of St. Martin Parish into Area A for turkey hunting.
 
 
To view the full notice of intent and all proposed hunting season dates and regulations changes for the upcoming hunting seasons, please visit http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/action-items.
 
Public comment will be accepted at LWFC monthly meetings from February through March and/or can be submitted in writing by mail to: Tommy Tuma, LDWF Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000, or via email to ttuma@wlf.la.gov until 9 p.m., March 1, 2018.
 
LDWF will also collect public comment at public hearings to be held Feb. 19-March 1 throughout the state. Locations and times for those meetings will be announced later this month.
 
For more information, contact Tommy Tuma at 225-765-2349 or ttuma@wlf.la.gov.
 

Jan. 4, 2018 – The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a notice of intent that would allow Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Agents to cite people in the state illegally transporting feral hogs.
 
The notice of intent reads in part: Feral hogs shall not be transported alive unless done so by a feral swine authorized transporter registered with the Board of Animal Health of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF), who has proof of said registration in his/her possession. Feral hogs being transported in violation of this rule will be confiscated and disposed of in accordance with LDWF policy.
 
The notice of intent will have no effect on people moving feral hogs legally with proper LDAF documents.
 
To read the full notice of intent, go to  http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/action-items.
 
To comment on the notice of intent or for more information, contact LDWF State Wildlife Veterinarian Jim LaCour at jlacour@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-0823.

Louisiana Crab Task Force Meeting

Pete Gerica, chairman

Tuesday, January 9, 2018, 1:00pm

UNO Advanced Technology Center 

2021 Lakeshore Dr., STE 210

New Orleans, LA 70148

AGENDA

I. Roll Call and Introduction of Guests

II. Approval of October 10, 2017 Minutes and January 9, 2018 Agenda

III. Financial Report

IV. New Business

     A. Discussion of an Amendment to the two-month crab season closure wherein, the carvest of all Crabs would be included in the closure of the season for an entire month and to consider scheduling the closure earlier in the year- Representative Jerry Gisclair    

     B. To Hear an Update on the 2018 Derelict Crab Trap Closures- Peyton Cagle

     C. To Hear a Presentation on Crab Import Data- Jack Isaacs

     D. To Submit 3 CTF Nominations for Consideration to be Appointed to the Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board  – CTF

     E. Discussion of Blue Crab Bycatch Regulations/ Limit Proposal- George Jackson

     F. Discussion of Task Force Name Tags and T-Shirts- Warren Delacroix

    G. Discussion of Crab Task Force Ethics Requirements- Warren Delacroix

    H. Officer Elections

V. Public Comment

VI. Set Next Meeting

VII. Adjourn

The meeting will be held in compliance with Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law as defined by Louisiana R.S. 42:11, et seq.  The public is invited to attend.  To listen in to the meeting via webinar register at:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2203924166716895747

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb, 

or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.

To sign up for LDWF commercial fishing alerts sent as text messages or as emails, visit http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/signup. For press inquiries please contact Rene LeBreton, 504-286-8745 or rlebreton@wlf.la.gov

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is committed to accommodating all reasonable special requests regarding access to our meetings. Please direct all sign language interpreting services or other accommodation needs to rlebreton@wlf.la.gov at least 72 hours prior to the meeting date.

January 3, 2018 – Today, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced the season for the recreational harvest of gray triggerfish will close in Louisiana waters on January 16, 2018 and remain closed through February 28, 2018. The recreational season will open as originally scheduled on January 1, 2018 and run through January 15, 2018 and then resume on March 1, 2018. NOAA Fisheries announced that new regulations are being enacted to help rebuild the gray triggerfish stock. NOAA Fisheries requested that Louisiana state waters also remain closed for that period.  The changes to the recreational season include an additional recreational fixed closed season from January 1 through the end of February of each year along with the currently established June 1 to July 31 fixed closed season.

Further changes enacted by NOAA Fisheries include size and bag limit changes which will also take effect in federal waters on January 16.  These changes include an increase in the recreational minimum size to 15 inches fork length and a reduction in the recreational bag limit to 1 gray triggerfish per angler per day within the 20-reef fish aggregate bag limit (species within the 20-reef fish aggregate are vermillion snapper, lane snapper, almaco jack, gray triggerfish, and tilefishes). Commercial trip limits have also changed to 16 gray triggerfish per trip. These additional changes to gray triggerfish regulations will be addressed at a future Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet was authorized by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission in previously promulgated rules (LAC 76.VII.335.G.5) to change or modify the opening and closing dates for any recreational reef fish season in Louisiana waters when notified of a modification to a season by NOAA Fisheries.  

For more information, contact Jason Adriance at (504) 284-2032 or jadriance@wlf.la.gov.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.