Breaking News

Teal numbers down for season opener, biologists predict

Hunters packing up their gear and heading to duck camps for the teal-season opener tomorrow (Sept. 10) will have significantly fewer targets, if Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ estimates from earlier this week are correct.

“The 169,000 blue-winged teal estimated on this survey is 21 percent below last year’s estimate of 215,000 and 32 percent below the long-term average of 248,000,” the official LDWF report reads.[…]

Breaking News

Youth waterfowl duck hunting allowed on Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge beginning Sept. 10

Portions of Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge will open for the first time to youth waterfowl hunting beginning Saturday (Sept. 10), allowing young hunters to take advantage of the early teal season.

This is the first hunting season opened on the refuge since its establishment in 1990, and youth hunting will be allowed throughout the rest of the teal season and the regular duck season on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.[…]

Breaking News

Paper mill caused massive Pearl River fish kill, company admits

Temple-Inland Inc. admitted a discharge at it’s Bogalusa plant caused the massive Pearl River fish kill that has included bass, catfish, paddlefish and federally protected Gulf sturgeon.

“We never lose sight that we are members and supporters of the Bogalusa area and apologize for the impact this issue at the mill has had on the Pearl River, its aqua culture (sic) and surrounding communities,” Temple-Inland’s Doyle Simmons said today (Aug. 17) in a news release. “We are working diligently and expeditiously to remove the fish kill and restore the quality of the river.”[…]

Breaking News

Pearl River fish kill under investigation

A large Pearl River fish kill reported Saturday (Aug. 13) could have been caused by an influx of partially treated and untreated wastewater, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported today (Aug. 15).

LDWF biologists were working with several other agencies to determine the cause of the kill, which included bass, catfish, bluegill, shad, paddlefish and eels. Several thousand fish were seen dead or dying along the river, the agency reported.[…]

Breaking News

Body of 12-year-old thrown from boat found in Lake Borgne

The body of a 12-year-old Mandeville girl thrown from a boat during an Shell Bayou accident Saturday (July 16) was located today (July 19), the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported.

The body of Samantha Vinturella was found shortly after 11 a.m. in Lake Borgne about five to six miles from the original boating crash incident site, the LDWF news release reported.[…]

Breaking News

Charter boat accident sends three to the hospital, U.S. Coast Guard says

The charter boat Looney Tuna took on water and capsized this morning (July 12) in Southwest Pass south of Venice in an accident that resulted in three people being medevaced by the U.S. Coast Guard, the agency reported.

The report of the incident was received by the Coast Guard about 8:50 a.m., and a Southwest Pass station pilot boat reportedly rescued the six passengers aboard the 36-foot boat, the Coast Guard reported.[…]

Breaking News

LDWF says Henderson Lake fish kill caused by thunderstorm

A fish kill that was reported on the LouisianaSportsman.com forum yesterday (July 7) is believed to have been caused by a heavy thunderstorm the previous day, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said.

“The instant addition of cold rainwater into channels like the one between McGee’s Landing and Whiskey River landing and The Boulevard caused the water to turn over,” LDWF’s Mike Walker said. “This brought low oxygen to the surface, and the resulting net oxygen level was not enough to sustain fish life.”[…]

Breaking News

Portion of Atchafalaya Basin reopens to all boat traffic

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has reopened all boat traffic for a four-mile long stretch in the Atchafalaya Basin in St. Martin Parish starting at noon today (June 13).

The department closed an area from the Henderson levee on the west side to the Butte La Rose levee on the east side to all boat traffic on May 26. The width of the previous closure ran from the Interstate 10 Bridge on the south side to a line 1/2 a mile north of the bridge on the north side.[…]