Today, at its regular meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) took action on a Declaration of Emergency to open the commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden on Thursday, March 14, 2022, based upon a request from the bait menhaden industry.  
  
The commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden typically opens on November 2nd and runs through December 1st with a 3,000 metric ton quota. In the event that quota is not harvested during the normal December season, the bait season may resume April 1 of the following year, unless Commission action occurs to reopen the season earlier.
  
The bait industry requested the LWFC open the season two weeks earlier on March 14 to meet customer demand.