Saving Seafood

Red snapper talk dominates Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting

July 21, 2016 — Red snapper again dominated the most recent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting, and what proponents of separation of the recreational sector into for-hire/charter and private-angler groups called an “experiment” apparently will be become standard operating procedure.

The biggest news was the council backed a proposal by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to establish an Ad Hoc Advisory Panel for Recreational Red Snapper Management set to meet for the first time in January 2017.

This year marked the second year of sector separation (Reef Fish Amendment 45), which granted charters 47 percent of the annual recreational red snapper take from Gulf waters, and there was a three-year sunset provision at the outset. The most recent council vote extended the sunset provision to 2022. This, and all other actions like it, are sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce for review.

Read the full story at The Advocate

Red snapper management would cost Louisiana $10 million-plus in first year, LDWF says

July 8, 2016 — If red snapper management is ultimately turned over to the individual Gulf states through Garret Graves’ bill currently moving through Congress, the program would come with a $10,039,000 price tag for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in its first year, according to the state’s head fisheries biologist.

The cost estimate was unveiled in Baton Rouge by LDWF Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fisheries Patrick Banks at Thursday’s four-hour meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, where charter fishermen spoke out against the legislation and members of Coastal Conservation Association Louisiana voiced their support for the bill.

The commission took no action on the red snapper presentation or the cost analysis.

“We had a Gulf Council meeting break out,” David Cresson, executive director for CCA Louisiana, said after the meeting. “It was a bit surprising to see representatives from Texas and Florida — representatives of historically anti-recreational groups — show up to give their opinions.

“So it felt a lot like a Gulf Council meeting today. And all the arguments they made sounded just like at the Gulf Council every time.”

Read the full story at the Louisiana Sportsman

Louisiana Creel not enough to cover full snapper management, biologist says

July 6, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon’s opposition to a congressional bill to hand over red snapper management to the Gulf states hinged on the bill’s lack of federal funding and what he estimated could be a $10 million annual price tag.

But that flew in the face of previous statements by his predecessor’s administration, which said in a congressional hearing that the agency had plenty of money for state management thanks to a saltwater fishing license increase instituted to fund the data-collection program known as LA Creel.

So who’s correct?

“Unfortunately, I would tend to say my current boss is more than likely closer to the truth,” LDWF Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fisheries Patrick Banks told LouisianaSportsman.com.

The reason is pretty simple, Banks said: LA Creel collects only one part of the data needed to perform full stock assessments necessary to effectively manage fisheries.

“LA Creel collects fisheries-dependent data,” the biologist said.

That includes information on recreational and charter catches, he said.

“What fish are caught, what types of fish are caught — stuff like that,” Banks explained.

However, LA Creel doesn’t capture any commercial landings, fisheries-independent data (think scientific sampling) or enforcement between state waters and the boundary of federal waters at 200 nautical miles.

And there probably just isn’t enough money in the program to cover those non-recreational aspects of management, he said.

Read the full story at Louisiana Sportsman

Governor of Louisiana opposes red snapper legislation transferring oversight

June 23, 2016 — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries published an open letter on Wednesday, 22 June stating their opposition to legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) that would transfer oversight over of the Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper fishery from the federal government to those of the Gulf states.

In his letter, the governor said the legislation, H.R. 3094, would not provide funding to allow the state to responsibly manage the fishery.

“H.R. 3094, as recently amended by Congressman Bishop, would not transfer any federal funding to the states to conduct necessary stock assessments, research, data collection, or enforcement. Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red snapper fishery,” the governor wrote.

“H.R. 3094 would not be a viable option for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the State of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish,” the statement continued. “As a department, we are charged with managing our fisheries resources for optimum yield; the same applies to our fiscal resources.”

Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, said in his letter that he understood that “some of our user groups are frustrated with the current federal management of red snapper under the authority of NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.”

Ewards said his administration remained, “committed to working with NOAA Fisheries, the Council and its members, and all interested stakeholders to ensure optimum utilization of and fair and equitable access to the red snapper resource.”

“The Department’s goal is to begin a collaborative dialogue with our state and federal partners to find a durable solution to these issues concerning management of the red snapper resource for the public good,” he wrote.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

LDWF Secretary opposes move to give Louisiana authority over red snapper

June 22, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon stated Tuesday he is opposed to a push to transfer management authority of Gulf of Mexico red snapper from the federal government to the fisheries agencies of the five Gulf states.

Melancon said a bill proposed by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) that’s currently making its way through Congress would grant Gulf states management authority without providing necessary dollars.

“Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red-snapper fishery,” Melancon said. “It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the state of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish.”

Previously, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had joined Louisiana in calling for NOAA Fisheries to surrender management control of the popular reef fish. Critics say gross mismanagement of red snapper has led to reduced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers. This year’s federal red-snapper season for recreational anglers was initially set at nine days, but was extended to 11 days after tropical weather kept many anglers at the dock.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Louisiana anglers catch too much shrimp with cast nets, LDWF says

May 26, 2016 — Four South Louisiana residents caught more than their recreational limits of shrimp using cast nets, and hid the haul at a nearby residence to avoid detection by authorities, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Department enforcement agents on Saturday cited Tony Bella, 28, of Bourg, Percy Michel, 28, of Thibodaux, Necole Hello, 32, of Thibodaux, and Courtney Boquet, 26, of Bourg, for possessing over the legal limit of shrimp and intentional concealment of seafood.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Agents bust four men for illegal shrimping, LDWF says

May 17, 2016 — Four Plaquemines Parish men sought to get a jump on their competition by shrimping in inshore waters Tuesday (May 10), according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The inshore shrimp season won’t open until May 23 at 6 a.m.

Agents say they saw the vessel Captain Bean actively shrimping with skimmers in the Bayou Grand Liard area near Buras around 9 p.m.

They cited Eulice J. Ordoyne Jr, 67, of Buras, and Trebor Fabiano, 33, of Belle Chasse, for using skimmers during a closed shrimp season. Additionally, Ordoyne was cited for using improper navigation lights.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Louisiana to open state outside waters to shrimping

April 14, 2016 –BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will open a portion of state outside waters to shrimping at 6 a.m. on Friday, April 22.

The area lies seaward of Terrebonne Parish and extends a distance of three nautical miles seaward from the Inside/Outside Shrimp Line, beginning at the northwest shore of Caillou Boca and extending westward to the eastern shore of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the channel red buoy line.

See the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Times

Former congressman to head Louisiana fisheries

January 19, 2016 — Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which governs commercial and recreational fishing in the state, got a new boss in January. Charlie Melancon, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislator, was appointed to the job by the state’s new governor, John Bel Edwards.

Although much of his non-political work in the past has centered on the state’s sugar cane industry, Melancon said he is confident that other experience, including working closely with fishermen when in Congress, has prepared him well for this new challenge.

“My experience is in sitting down at the table and working through problems, that is what I have always brought,” Melancon said. “Whether it’s dating or a marriage or a political relationship, and that is what I have always brought, sitting down and compromising and finding common ground.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

LOUISIANA: First Major Gulf Oyster Hatchery Revs Up Production on Grand Isle

September 14, 2015 — For more than 20-years, the old Grand Isle Sea Grant oyster hatchery and lab faced exposure to every known element the Gulf of Mexico could throw at it. The recently opened Mike Voisin Oyster Hatchery, whose namesake served as a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries commissioner and chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, may not face that same exposure to the elements, but instead face new challenges both manmade and natural.

Water quality will be a continuing challenge for the new $3 million dollar hatchery according to John Supan, an oyster specialist with Louisiana Sea Grant, who designed and oversees the facility. “The building’s water system is designed to go into recirculating mode during times when water quality is not optimal. It is one thing to have the system, but making it work will be a big challenge,” he explained.

According to the oyster researcher, periods of low salinity from wind-driven plumes of Mississippi River water, or local heavy rainfall from tropical waves, affects larval production in a hatchery environment.

All About Water Quality

Water quality has plagued the Grand Isle operation since inception. With more than 27 years in the making, the new oyster hatchery is shielded from the elements of the Gulf’s uncertain weather and Supan is confident he has found the solution for the fluctuation of water quality.

An advanced water circulation system and temperature-controlled system allows larvae and spat to be produced year-round. This will be instrumental in meeting the hatchery’s billion oyster larvae a year contract with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Larvae produced at the facility will be used for the restoration of public reefs that were damaged after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and specifically for corrective action towards the state’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment funded cultch plants.

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute