At Thursday’s meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) adopted a Notice of Intent (NOI) allowing the removal of derelict crab traps along Louisiana’s coast from the five following described areas in 2025:

  1. The first closure will occur in the Pontchartrain Basin, west of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, from 12 a.m. February 1, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. February 14, 2025.
  2. The second closure will occur in the Vermilion-Teche Basin, all waters north of Marsh Island, from 12 a.m. February 1, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. February 14, 2025.
  3. The third closure will occur in the Barataria Basin, south of Lafitte, from 12 a.m. February 8, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. February 21, 2025.
  4. The fourth closure will occur in the Terrebonne Basin, between Dulac and Cocodrie, extending to the shrimp inside-outside line, from 12 a.m. February 15, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. February 28, 2025.
  5. The fifth closure will occur in the Calcasieu Basin, the northern half of Calcasieu Lake, from 12 a.m. February 17, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. February 26, 2025.

Since 2004, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and individual volunteers and organizations have successfully removed and disposed of over 57,000 abandoned and derelict crab traps. Removing these crab traps is especially important to boating safety and crab harvesting efforts.

All crab traps remaining in the closed area during the specified period will be considered abandoned.

In the weeks leading up to the closure, LDWF will mail notices to all commercial crab trap license holders and crab buyers within the affected parishes as well as non-resident licensed crab fishermen who landed blue crab within the previous year from Louisiana waters. 

Please contact our Licensing Department to update your contact information if you have landed crab within the past several years and have not received a letter in the mail from LDWF about the past crab trap closure areas.

These proposed trap removal regulations do not provide authorization for access to private property. Authorization to access private property can only be provided by individual landowners.

Crab traps may be removed between one half-hour before sunrise and one half hour after sunset. Only LDWF or those designated by LDWF will be authorized to remove derelict crab traps in the closure areas. Abandoned traps must be brought to LDWF-designated disposal sites.

Please click here to view maps of the designated closure areas

Interested persons may submit written comments relative to the proposed rule to Peyton Cagle, Marine Fisheries Biologist DCL-B, Marine Fisheries Section, 1025 Tom Watson Rd., Lake Charles, LA 70615, or via e-mail to: pcagle@wlf.la.gov prior to October 31, 2024.