Today, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission set the opening dates of the 2017 Louisiana spring shrimp season based on data provided by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists and public comments.
The opening dates for the 2017 Louisiana spring shrimp season are as follows:
- The portion of state inside waters from the Mississippi/Louisiana state line to the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River to open at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 15.
- The portion of state inside waters from the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River to Freshwater Bayou to open at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 8.
- The portion of state inside waters from Freshwater Bayou to the Louisiana/Texas state line to open at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 15.
LDWF biologists monitored hydrological parameters and conducted over 500 trawl samples throughout the state’s estuarine and nearshore waters over the last five weeks to develop management recommendations for spring inshore opening dates. The Department provided projections of the dates when a minimum of 50 percent of the inshore brown shrimp population sampled reach sizes of 100 count per pound or larger.
The Commission granted authority to the Secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to delay these opening dates if biological and technical data indicate the need to do so, and; to close any portion of Louisiana's inside waters to protect small juvenile white shrimp if biological and technical data indicate the need to do so, or enforcement problems develop. The Secretary is further granted the authority to open any area, or re-open any previously closed area, and to open and close special shrimp seasons in any portion of state waters.
For a map detailing these openings click here: http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/fishing/commercial-shrimp
For more information, contact Jeffrey Marx (337) 373-0032 or jmarx@wlf.la.gov.