Louisiana anglers will be able to complete the month of July catching red snapper.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) catch estimates are still well below the harvest limit that would result in red snapper season being closed.
The latest catch statistics recorded by LDWF’s LA Creel, the state’s near real-time data collecting program, is 709,595 pounds. It covers the period through July 16. The last reported catch total was 655,603 pounds for the week ending July 9.
The state’s self-imposed cutoff number is 1.04 million pounds for 2017.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has ordered LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet to end the red snapper season when it appears Louisiana’s harvest will meet the 1.04-million-pound limit. It is the goal of LDWF to be accountable for the state’s catch in order to improve its chances of receiving federal government permission allowing Louisiana to oversee its own red snapper season out 200 nautical miles from its coast.
The red snapper fishing season was extended 39 days as part of an agreement reached earlier this summer involving Louisiana, the four other Gulf states – Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida - and the U.S. Department of Commerce. It allowed recreational anglers to fish out 200 miles from the Louisiana coast for red snapper for 39 days. Those dates included June 16-18, June 23-25, June 30-July 4, July 7-9, July 14-16, July 21-23, July 28-30, Aug. 4-6, Aug. 11-13, Aug 18-20, Aug. 25-27, and Sept. 1-4.
Any dates after this weekend will be cancelled immediately if the limit is reached before September 4.
Also under the agreement there would be no red snapper fishing in state waters – out nine miles from the Louisiana coast – on Mondays through Thursdays, except on July 3-4 and September 4. Anglers are limited to two fish, measuring at least 16 inches, per day.
*For more information on the 2017 red snapper landings estimates, visit: