The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will host a public hearing on October 22, 2014, at 10 a.m. at LDWF Headquarters in Baton Rouge to discuss the proposed rule change to the Fisheries Forward Notice of Intent.
 
In July, LDWF published a Notice of Intent in the Louisiana State Register to establish the Fisheries Forward program, a program that was created to elevate the professionalism in Louisiana’s seafood industry.
 
After thorough review and public input, LDWF has made the following substantive change to the original notice of intent:
 
The Department shall issue a special crab trap permit allowing the applicant to actively fish crabs under a sponsor’s crab trap gear license and report trip ticket sales of crabs using the applicant’s name and commercial fisherman’s license number. This permit shall only be issued once and shall only be valid for the duration of the sponsorship. The applicant must complete a minimum of 20 crab fishing trips evidenced by trip tickets. Any trips or landings conducted prior to the date the sponsorship is initiated shall not count toward the applicant’s total required crab fishing trips.
 
For more information on the Notice of Intent, contact  Jason Froeba at jfroeba@wlf.la.gov or (225)765-0121.