Only portions of Lake Pontchartrain basin remain open to inshore shrimping, agency says.
The spring inshore shrimp season closes at 6 p.m Thursday (July 12) from the eastern shore of the Calcasieu Ship Channel to to the Texas state line, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced today.
The closure means all state inside waters are closed to shrimping except in the following areas within the Lake Pontchartrain basin, which will remain open until further notice:
• Rigolets Pass
• Chef Menteur Pass
• Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO)
• The part of Lake Borgne seaward of a line extending one-half mile from the shoreline
• The portion of Mississippi Sound beginning at a point on the Louisiana-Mississippi Lateral Boundary at 30 degrees 09 minutes 39.6 seconds north latitude and 89 degrees 30 minutes 00.0 seconds west longitude; thence due south to a point at 30 degrees 05 minutes 00.0 seconds north latitude and 89 degrees 30 minutes 00.0 seconds west longitude; thence southeasterly to a point on the western shore of Three-Mile Pass at 30 degrees 03 minutes 00.0 seconds north latitude and 89 degrees 22 minutes 23.0 seconds west longitude; thence northeasterly to a point on Isle Au Pitre at 30 degrees 09 minutes 20.5 seconds north latitude and 89 degrees 11 minutes 15.5 seconds west longitude, which is a point on the double–rig line as described in R.S. 56:495.1(A)2; thence northerly along the double–rig line to a point on the Louisiana-Mississippi Lateral Boundary at 30 degrees 12 minutes 37.9056 seconds north latitude and 89 degrees 10 minutes 57.9725 seconds west longitude; thence westerly along the Louisiana-Mississippi Lateral Boundary to the point of beginning
• The open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as described by the double-rig line
Data collected in recent weeks by LDWF biologists indicates increased quantity, distribution and percentage of small, juvenile white shrimp within these waters. The decision to close these areas was made in an effort to protect these developing shrimp and provide opportunity for growth to larger and more marketable sizes.
All state outside waters also remain open to shrimping; however, certain areas are still closed to commercial fishing and certain recreational fishing activities due to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Maps of the areas that remain closed to recreational and commercial fishing are posted here.