In an effort to stimulate economic activity in coastal Louisiana, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Robert Barham announced a modification to the state waters fishing closures to allow the recreational catch and release of finfish in closed areas effective immediately, today, July 6, 2010.
Recreational catch-and-release fishing is allowed as long as no finfish are possessed in the closed area. This modification is limited to finfish only and does not apply to other species such as shrimp, crabs, and other non-finfish species.
Fishermen can continue to transit through the closed areas with fish legally harvested from open waters but may not fish in a closed area while possessing any species of fish.
"Even at this critical time, we want to offer our anglers every opportunity to continue to enjoy the sport," said Barham. "This option has been on the table for some time now and is part of our ongoing effort to be proactive as we continue to write the play book on this event."
While participating in catch and release fishing, the department urges interested anglers to sign up for the Louisiana Cooperative Marine Sport Fish Tagging Program. Through this program, volunteer anglers provide information that is difficult, often impossible, and expensive to obtain by other means. For additional information, interested anglers can contact fishtags@wlf.louisiana.gov.
