The fall inshore shrimp season will open in that portion of Shrimp Management Zone 2 from the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the Channel red buoy line at 12:00 noon Monday, August 14, 2006. The remaining portion of Zone 2 and all of Zones 1 and 3 will open at 12:00 noon Monday, August 21, 2006. Season dates were approved by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at its August 3 meeting, based upon recommendations presented by Marine Fisheries Division staff.
The closing date set by the commission for these waters is official sunset Tuesday December 19, 2006 except for the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as described by the double-rig line (LA R.S.56:495.1(A)2) which will remain open to shrimping until 6:00 a.m. March 31, 2007.
Zone 1 includes Louisiana waters from the Mississippi-Louisiana state line to the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River. Zone 2 extends from to the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River to the western shore of Vermilion Bay and Southwest Pass at Marsh Island. Zone 3 extends from the western shore of Vermilion Bay and Southwest Pass at Marsh Island to the Louisiana-Texas state line.
Recognizing the potential for an early fall shrimp season opening, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission previously provided Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Dwight Landreneau authority to open the fall inshore shrimp season in the event that white shrimp populations reached legal harvestable sizes before the August 3 commission meeting. However, biological sampling has indicated significant recruitment of smaller juvenile white shrimp into portions of state waters in recent weeks and the Department's biological staff did not recommend an opening in advance of the meeting.
The commission also authorized Secretary Landreneau to change the closing dates of the 2006 fall shrimp season if biological and technical data indicate a need to do so or if enforcement problems develop and to close and reopen all or parts of state inside and outside waters if significant numbers of small white shrimp are found in these waters.
According to LDWF trip ticket report data, Louisiana commercial shrimp landings in 2005 totaled approximately 102.1 million pounds (heads-on weight) and had a dockside value of $132.8. White shrimp accounted for nearly sixty percent of shrimp landings and sixty-nine percent of the value of shrimp landed in Louisiana last year.
David A. Bourgeois is a contributing writer for houma.com. He is employed as an Associate Area Agent-Fisheries for the LSU AgCenter Research & Extension/La. Sea Grant Marine Extension Program. If you would like more information, contact David at 511 Roussell St. Houma, La. 70360 or via phone at (985) 873-6495.