The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) announced that shrimp season will reopen at 6:00 a.m. on April 2, 2018, in a portion of state outside waters seaward of Terrebonne Parish.
The area extends from the inside/outside shrimp line seaward to the 3-mile line, from the northwest shore of Caillou Boca at -90 degrees 50 minutes 27 seconds west longitude westward to the eastern shore of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the red buoy line.
According to the most recent data collected by LDWF biologists, small white shrimp have reached marketable sizes and the closure is no longer necessary. Significant numbers of smaller size white shrimp still remain in state outside waters west of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal at -92 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds west longitude, and these waters will remain closed to shrimping until further notice.
The opening dates for the 2018 spring inshore shrimp season will be considered by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at their May 3, 2018, meeting.
For more information, contact Peyton Cagle (337) 491-2575 or pcagle@wlf.la.gov.