July 10, 2017 — The 2017 spring inshore shrimp season will be closing Friday, July 14, 2017, according to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents.
Officials say the closure will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, July 14th. The closure will be from the Louisiana/Mississippi state line westward to the eastern shore of the Mississippi River and from Freshwater Bayou canal westward to the Louisiana/Texas state line. The exceptions will be in the following fresh water areas:
Lake Pontchartrain, Chef Menteur and Rigolets Passes, Lake Borgne, the Louisiana portion of Mississippi Sound, and the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds.
All out of state waters seaward of the Inside/ Outside shrimp line will remain open. (see photo for exact areas that will remain open)
Agents say that the decision to close these waters was made to protect these developing shrimp and provide opportunity for growth to larger and more marketable sizes. The areas that remain open will continue to be monitored and will close when the presence of smaller white shrimp make it biologically inappropriate to remain open.
LDWF would also like to remind shrimpers that there is a possession count on saltwater white shrimp taken in either inside or outside (offshore) waters of Louisiana of 100 count (whole shrimp per pound).