Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Archives - Page 3 of 3

LOUISIANA: Reef fish dominated Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries commission meeting again

November 4, 2016 — With hunting seasons ready to hit full stride, fishing, once again, dominated Thursday’s Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting in Baton Rouge.

And again, the issues centered on red snapper, the proposed red snapper-takeover plan – also known as regional management – by each of the five Gulf States, and an update on gray triggerfish.

The discussion surfaced during an agenda item that called on Department of Wildlife and Fisheries veteran biologist Myron Fischer’s report on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s October quarterly meeting held in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Gray triggerfish came first: Fischer told the commission the latest data showed the species continues to hold “overfished” status, that the GMFMC discussed a one-per-day limit, a 15 inches minimum size limit and two closed seasons, the first in January through February and the second to run June through July for the recreational sector, and trip limits for the commercial sector.

Fischer said while public hearings will be held to get input on the species, there is the possibility recreational anglers will face a closed season on gray triggerfish throughout 2017.

Next up was the regional management issue and its relationship to the GMFMC’s newly formed Private Recreational Advisory Panel, a move proposed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ representative to the council, LDWF assistant secretary Patrick Banks earlier this year.

Fischer said the LDWF made a motion to charge the new panel with “management measures” to include “… more quality access to the resource in federal waters, reduce (undersized) discards, and improve fisheries data collection.”

Read the full story at The Acadiana Advocate

LOUISIANA: LDWF snapper-management cost estimate undermined

September 13, 2016 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ contention that state-run management of red snapper would cost more than $10 million in its first year alone was undermined Wednesday when Congressional officials confirmed the federal government would still pay for stock assessments and research efforts in the Gulf of Mexico — absorbing most of the LDWF cost estimate.

The news came during LDWF’s “Red Snapper Education Day” that featured speakers hand-picked by the department to inform members of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and the general public on the status of the snapper fishery.

The department, led by Secretary Charlie Melancon, has come under fire from recreational anglers since midsummer for opposing H.R. 3094, which would remove management of Gulf red snapper from the federal government and award it to the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority, a group comprised of representatives from each of the five states.

Congressman Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) sponsored the bill.

Recreational anglers — who received an 11-day federal snapper season in the Gulf this summer — have long complained the federal system is highly-politicized, mismanaged and favors commercial fishermen.

The prior LDWF administration labored for years to strip management from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and worked closely with Graves as the bill made its way through the Congressional process.

Melancon contended in June that an amendment offered by U.S. House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) to eliminate from the bill federal funding of state management was a “poison pill” designed to kill the legislation in Washington, D.C.

Read the full story at Louisiana Sportsman

LOUISIANA: Red snapper dispute continued at Wednesday meeting

September 8, 2016 — The war of words continued Wednesday during an all-day meeting in Baton Rouge designed to educate members of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on red snapper management.

A surrogate of Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, presented a letter declaring states would not be responsible for research funding under HR 3094, a bill authored by Graves and Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, that would transfer management authority to Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

That directly contradicted charges made by Charlie Melancon, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, that the bill became an unfunded mandate when Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, tacked an amendment to it.

“Amending things to death is how you kill a bill,” Melancon told the crowd of industry leaders and interested anglers Wednesday. “What was done to (HR 3094) was an attempt to kill the bill.”

But Paul Sawyer, Graves’ chief of staff, presented a letter, signed by Bishop, stating that his amendment merely banned the transfer of funds to the states for fisheries research because that research would continue to be conducted by NOAA Fisheries.

“Existing NOAA data collection on red snapper stocks is unaffected by my amendment, and nothing precludes the federal government from sharing that data or existing research activities with the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority to inform and assist with state management,” Bishop said in the letter.

Read the full story at The Times Picayune

Snapper management tops Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting agenda

July 7, 2016 — The issue of red snapper and the development of Louisiana’s plan to manage red snapper for the private sector of recreationally caught red snapper is a top item on Thursday’s agenda for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

The meeting is scheduled to convene at 9:30 a.m. at state Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters on Quail Drive in Baton Rouge.

Furor arose in the past two weeks after Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves’ sponsored bill calling for state management of red snapper for recreational anglers cleared the U.S. House’s Natural Resources Committee.

While not outlined specifically by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Secretary Charlie Melancon nor his staff, Melancon objected to the bill because it did not contain adequate funding for state management of the species.

Read the full story at The New Orleans Advocate

Shrimp season to kick off this month in Louisiana

May 10, 2016 — Starting on 23 May at 6 a.m. local time, inshore shrimpers across the state of Louisiana will be permitted to begin their spring season.

The decision comes from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, which voted on 5 May to go ahead with a universal opening that won’t be staggered among shrimp zones for the second year in a row, reported Nola.com.

The move to go ahead with an un-staggered opening opposes Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries data, which found that an earlier opening would benefit certain areas such as with the Barataria, Timbalier, Terrebonne and the Vermilion-Teche basins. Shrimp would reach harvestable size in the Barataria, Timbalier and Terrebonne basins on or before 16 May, according to the data presented by department biologist Jeff Marx.

Read the full story from Seafood Source