LDWF
Announces Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program
Posted:
1/7/04
Maps:
The
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a notice
of intent to establish a derelict crab trap removal program
at its Sept. 4 meeting. The rule prohibits the use of crab
traps within specific areas during closure periods, designates
all remaining crab traps in these areas as abandoned and subject
to removal, and allows individuals to retrieve abandoned traps
and bring them to designated disposal sites.
A
winter closure in the upper Terrebonne Bay estuary and a spring
closure in a portion of Vermilion Bay were included. The Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is sensitive to
private landowner concerns regarding liability and public
access issues, and this trap removal project does not provide
authority to access and remove traps from private property.
Authorization to access privately owned property can only
be provided for by individual landowners.
During the winter closure, the use of crab traps will be prohibited
for a 16-day period from 6:00 a.m. Feb. 28 through 6:00 a.m.
March 14 within the portion of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes
as described below:
-
From a point originating from the southern boundary of the
Pointe au Chien Wildlife Management Area at the South Lafourche
Hurricane Protection Levee
-
thence west along the southern boundary of the Pointe au
Chien Wildlife Management Area to the Humble Canal
- thence
west along the northern shoreline of Humble Canal to its
intersection with Bayou Terrebonne
-
thence south along the western shoreline of Bayou Terrebonne
to its intersection with Bush Canal
- thence
west along the northern shoreline of Bush Canal to its intersection
with Bayou Little Caillou
-
thence north along the eastern shoreline of Bayou Little
Caillou to the Gulf South / South Coast Natural Gas Pipeline
in Chauvin
-
thence northwest along the Gulf South / South Coast Natural
Gas Pipeline to La. Hwy. 57
- thence
south and then southeast along La. Hwy. 57 to its intersection
with La. Hwy. 56
- thence
south along La. Hwy. 56 to latitude 29 degrees 17 minutes
00 seconds N
-
thence east along latitude 29 degrees 17 minutes 00 seconds
N to La. Hwy 1
-
thence north along La. Hwy. 1 to the South Lafourche Hurricane
Protection Levee
-
thence north along the South Lafourche Hurricane Protection
Levee
-
and terminating at the southern boundary of the Pointe au
Chien Wildlife Management Area.
The Louisiana blue crab fishery is one of the largest crab
fisheries in the United States. In 2002, 50.1 million pounds
of blue crabs worth $30.7 million dockside were harvested
in Louisiana. Over half of the total commercial blue crab
harvest in the Gulf of Mexico originates in Louisiana.
The derelict crab trap removal program has received growing
support and has been widely accepted. Several organizations
and institutions, including the Barataria-Terrebonne National
Estuary Program, Louisiana Crab Task Force, Coastal Conservation
Association, Louisiana Wildlife Federation and Louisiana Sea
Grant, have pledged support of the program and have been working
with the LDWF in developing plans for the removal of derelict
traps.
The program is a positive for the fishery and other user groups.
Removing derelict traps from the water will reduce navigational
hazards, user group conflicts with shrimp fishermen, and mortality
of blue crabs and other organisms.
All crab traps in the closed area during the closure period
will be considered abandoned and may be removed, subject to
the following rules:
-
Traps may only be retrieved from within the closure area
between one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after
sunset from 6:00 a.m. Feb. 28 through 6:00 a.m. March 14.
-
Traps must be disposed of at designated disposal sites and
may not be possessed outside of the closed area.
LDWF Secretary, James H. Jenkins Jr., announced that the designated
disposal sites for the winter closure are:
- Cozy
Campers Campground on Lapeyrouse Canal on La. Hwy. 56 between
Chauvin and Cocodrie.
-
Seabreeze Marina on Bayou Terrebonne on La. Hwy. 55 south
of Montegut and Madison Canal.
-
Pointe au Chene Marina on Cut Off Canal at the end of La.
Hwy. 665.
-
Josh's Marina on the canal leading to Catfish Lake behind
Crab Shack on La. Hwy. 3235 in Golden Meadow.
Louisiana's derelict crab trap removal program is volunteer-based
and should provide an excellent opportunity for everyone who
enjoys our coastal waters to work together to help make a
difference. The primary volunteer days are scheduled for two
Saturdays, Feb. 28 and March, although traps may be retrieved
at other times as specified earlier.
If
either volunteer day is cancelled due to inclement weather,
then Saturday, March 13, will be substituted. Additional instructions,
maps, supplies (tarps, grappling hooks, garbage bags and gloves)
and volunteer incentives will be provided to volunteers on
the “volunteer days” at the designated disposal
sites. LDWF personnel will be present at each disposal site
these Saturdays to collect data and to assist with unloading
and crushing traps.
Additional volunteer information can be found at the Derelict
Crab Trap Removal Program Web site, www.blue-crab.net/derelict.html,
under volunteer information.
In order to better manage volunteer effort and trap retrieval
activities, volunteers are asked to sign up in advance. Please
contact Vince Guillory, (985)594-4139 or guillory_v@wlf.state.la.us,
for more information or if you would like to volunteer.
The spring crab trap fisheries closure will take place in
a portion of Vermilion Bay west of the Acadiana Navigational
Channel for nine or fourteen days and will include the opening
day of the spring inshore shrimp season in Vermilion Bay.
More information about this closure will be released later.
Download:
craptrap_press.pdf
(86KB)
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