The
2007 spring inshore shrimp season in a portion of Shrimp Management
Zone 2 extending from the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at
Eugene Island as delineated by the Channel red buoy line to
the western shore of Vermilion Bay and Southwest Pass at Marsh
Island will close on Monday, June 25, at one-half hour before
official sunrise. The remaining portion of Zone 2 from the
Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated
by the Channel red buoy line to the eastern shore of South
Pass of the Mississippi River and all of Zones 1 and 3 will
remain open until further notice. State territorial waters
south of the Inside/Outside shrimp line, as described in Louisiana
R.S.56:495, will also remain open to shrimping.
Zone 1 includes
state waters from the Mississippi/Louisiana state line to
the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River and
Zone 3 includes state waters from the western shore of Vermilion
Bay and Southwest Pass at Marsh Island to the Louisiana/Texas
state line.
The closure was
announced today by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Secretary Bryant O. Hammett, Jr. and was based on recommendations
made by LDWF Marine Fisheries Division biologists.
The number, distribution
and percentage of small juvenile white shrimp within the area
to be closed has progressively increased in recent weeks.
Analysis of current LDWF shrimp trawl sampling data indicates
substantial population increases this week and these waters
are being closed to protect these developing shrimp.
