Contact: Clay Chester, Southeastern States Coordinator
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (Commission) recently held their virtual May meeting at which they established parameters for the upcoming red snapper season and discussed proposed regulatory changes.
Recreational Red Snapper Season
Louisiana (LA) and other states bordering the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) were granted limited state management authority of private recreational angling for red snapper in state and federal waters by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). On February 5, NOAA’s Final Rule specified that each state must set a fishing season, a bag limit and a minimum size limit. After many years of advocating for state management of red snapper in the Gulf, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) celebrates this victory for the recreational fishing community.
Louisiana’s recreational red snapper season will begin on May 22 for weekends only, plus two Mondays (Memorial and Labor Day). It will remain open until the state’s annual private recreational allocation of 784,332 pounds has been met. Louisiana is allocated 19.12 percent of the private angling quota for the Gulf but due to overages in last year’s red snapper season, the state’s quota was reduced by almost 32,000 pounds this year. The Commission also announced the daily bag limit of two fish per person and a total length minimum size limit of 16 inches.
The announcement highlighted that the periodic LA Creel dockside surveys, voluntary online and phone surveys, and the electronic reporting through the Recreational Offshore Landing Permit app are necessary for accurate and reliable harvest estimates. Future state management recommendations rely on the data collected through these methods.
Residents and non-residents interested in recreational fishing for red snapper must carry their Louisiana Basic and Saltwater Recreational Fishing Licenses in addition to a Recreational Offshore Landing Permit.
CSF and partners remain engaged with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to continue addressing goals in the red snapper fishery.
Proposed Regulations
Earlier this month, the Commission approved the Notice of Intent in which they outlined proposed regulations for Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) beginning with the 2020-2021 season. Additionally, the Commission proposed changes to the resident game hunting and migratory bird seasons and bag limits for the 2020-2022 seasons.
Some of the proposed regulation changes include:
The Commission will hold their next meeting on June 4. Persons interested in participating in the webinar can find additional information here.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
