Today, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham announced a shrimping closure in a portion of state inside waters east of the Mississippi River and in outside waters off of western Terrebonne Parish effective Monday, January 13, 2014 at official sunset.
Specifically, those waters that will close to shrimping include:
- The portion of state inside waters from the Mississippi/Louisiana state line southward to the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River except for the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as described by the double rig line in R.S. 56:495.1(A)2.
- State outside waters extending a distance of 3 nautical miles seaward of the inside/outside shrimp line from the northwest shore of Caillou Boca at -90 degrees 50 minutes 27 seconds west longitude westward to the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the Channel red buoy line
The following state waters will remain open to shrimping until further notice:
- The open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as described by the double-rig line
- All state outside waters east of the northwest shore of Caillou Boca at -90 degrees 50 minutes 27 seconds west longitude as well as all state outside waters west of the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal at -92 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds west longitude
- All fishery jurisdiction waters claimed by the state beyond the three nautical mile closure zone.
Regulations state that the possession count on saltwater, white shrimp shall average no more than 100 (whole shrimp) count per pound, with the exception of October 15 through the third Monday in December, when there is no minimum count size.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission provided LDWF Secretary Robert Barham with authority to close shrimping in both state inside and outside waters when biological and technical data indicate the need. Data collected from the most current biological samples conducted by the Department indicate that average white shrimp size within these outside waters to be closed is smaller than the minimum possession count. Additionally, water temperatures reached 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) following the passage of the most recent cold front, leaving little expectations of additional shrimp growth in the immediate future. This action is being taken to protect these small white shrimp and provide opportunity for growth to larger and more valuable sizes.
For a map detailing today’s actions click here.
Louisiana continues to lead the country in shrimp landings. In 2012, approximately 5,566 licensed Louisiana commercial shrimpers landed 100.3 million pounds of shrimp (all species combined/heads-on weight) that had a dockside value of $145 million.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffbor follow us on Twitter @LDWF.
For more information, contact Martin Bourgeois (985) 594-4130 mbourgeois@wlf.la.gov. For press inquiries, contact Ashley Roth at aroth@wlf.la.gov or (504) 286-4162.