The Louisiana Wildlife
and Fisheries Commission issued a declaration of emergency
and notice of intent to modify creel and size limits and to
eliminate the commercial closed season for vermilion snapper,
and to modify the commercial Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ)
red snapper commercial landing and offloading requirements
at their Feb. 7, 2008 meeting, as recommended by the Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Effective March
5, 2008, the commercial and recreational vermilion snapper
minimum size limit will be reduced from 11 inches to 10 inches
total length; the 10 fish recreational bag limit restriction
for vermilion snapper within the existing 20-fish aggregate
reef fish bag limit is eliminated; and the 40-day commercial
closure for vermilion snapper, which extended from April 22
through May 31 each year, is eliminated.
Effective 6 a.m.
Feb, 8, 2008, commercial red snapper IFQ fishermen can land
their vessels anytime during the day and night, provided that
a landing notification has been given three to 12 hours prior
to landing; can only offload red snapper from 6 a.m. to 6
p.m.; and do not need to give a law enforcement an offloading
notification for red snapper. For the purposes of these regulations,
the term “landing” means tying a vessel to a dock.
“Offloading” means removing red snapper from a
vessel.
The commission's
actions ensure that regulations in state waters will complement
regulations of the National Marine Fisheries Service for federally
managed waters. NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council typically request consistent regulations for Louisiana
waters to enhance effectiveness and enforceability of regulations.
Public
comments on the notice of intent to modify the permanent rule
will be accepted prior to Thursday, May 1, 2008. Comments
should be submitted to Harry Blanchet, Marine Fisheries Division,
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000,
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or by e-mail to hblanchet@wlf.louisiana.gov,
with "February Reef Fish Notice of Intent" in the
subject line.
