Venice charter captains and marina owners hold press conference to get message out
The current offshore shrimping closure due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been expanded west to Freshwater Bayou, and the Zone 2 inshore shrimping season will be delayed until further notice, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced today (May 8).
Thus far, no recreational fishing closures west of the Mississippi River’s South Pass have been enacted.
The latest offshore shrimping shut-down extends the closure announced Thursday (May 6) from Four Bayou Pass to Freshwater Bayou, and means all outside territorial waters from the Mississippi/Louisiana state line to Freshwater Bayou are closed to shrimp harvesting.
LDWF Secretary Robert Barham also announced that the Zone 3 inshore waters, from the western shore of Vermilion Bay to the Louisiana/Texas state line were opened at sunset today.
LDWF officials said Barham made these decisions based on the potential effects from the Gulf oil spill.