Commercial
King Mackerel Season to Close October 21, 2004
Posted:
10/22/04
The commercial
season for king mackerel in Louisiana waters will close at
noon on Thursday, October 21. Louisiana Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries Secretary Dwight Landreneau made the decision,
as authorized by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.
At its January
meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission gave
the secretary of the department the authority to close the
commercial season for king mackerel in Louisiana state waters
when he is informed that the designated portion of the commercial
king mackerel quota has been filled or is projected to be
filled. Acting on information from LDWF biologists, the National
Marine Fisheries Service and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council, Secretary Landreneau signed a declaration of emergency
for the closure.
The closure
in Louisiana state waters follows the closure of the commercial
king mackerel fishery in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico
off of Louisiana. Each year a commercial quota is established
for Gulf group king mackerel by NMFS based on recommendations
by the Gulf and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils.
That figure is then divided into allocations for various zones
and fisheries. According to the best information available,
the 1.05 million pound commercial quota of king mackerel for
the western zone will be harvested by October 20.
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