Shrimp will be the topic this week for Thursday’s monthly Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting.
Early May is decision time for the state to open the spring inshore season — a mostly brown shrimp catch — and Wildlife and Fisheries’ shrimp study biologists provide the data on about 10 weeks of a survey taken of the movement and growth of brown shrimp in the major basins along our coast.
Opening dates will be determined for the Pontchartrain, Barataria-Terrebonne and basins west of the Atchafalaya Delta, and it’s become customary for commercial shrimpers working the Pontchartrain Basin to ask for a late-date opening to allow shrimp in those waters to grow to what they call “marketable” sizes.
The meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at the state Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters on Quail Drive in Ϳʷ¼.
Other agenda items include:
- Adoption of the amendments and final approval of the 2024-2025 hunting seasons;
- A discussion to support the agency’s role in the ongoing Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Zone study;
- A report on the fiscal status of the agency’s Conservation Fund and 2025 budget;
- A summary of public comments on establishing rules for ecotours on wildlife management areas;
- Several notices to change marking regulations regarding recreational crawfish traps, bream traps and other freshwater recreational gear along with establishing new rules for “saltwater passive hooked gear marking, setting and tending.”
- An update on the Federal Fisheries Disaster Funding program;
- And, a report on the wildlife and fisheries bills from current Legislative session.
The meeting will be carried live via Zoom.
The birds
The state Office of Tourism has used funds from the CARES Act to launch a birding website with hopes of bringing tourism to “rural and underserved communities in Louisiana.”
Bird-watchers far and wide have long known our state is a birders’ paradise, not only because Louisiana is a terminus for the Mississippi and Central migratory flyways, but because our state is a home for and stopping-off point for neotropical species.
Birding friends have identified hundreds of species — the Office of Tourism’s announcement claimed “470 unique species (in) 256 unique locations.”
All that leg work exemplifies the diverse habitats Louisiana offers to native and migratory birds.
The LOT’s interactive and ADA-compliant website — — divides our state into six regions and the website identifies species which can be found in those regions. Included, too, is a list of outdoor recreation opportunities like fishing or paddling in each region.
Red grouper
While uncommon to our state’s offshore reefs, the past few years have produced a few anglers showing up at docks with red grouper.
Last week, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council issued a release asking fishermen to provide trends in what they’re finding in Louisiana’s offshore waters when it comes to this species.
“The council recognizes that as active fishermen, you may notice trends or interesting things happening in the Gulf that the scientists and managers may not be aware of yet,” GMFMC fishery managers said.
The info is needed because of an ongoing red grouper stock assessment.
To respond, go to the council’s website — — and find the “Fisherman Feedback for Red Grouper Tool.”
The deadline is May 24.
The new licenses
Come Monday, Wildlife and Fisheries will offer durable license cards so sportsmen don’t have to rely on paper licenses for the wide ranging list of fishing, hunting and access licenses needed to roam our state waters, marshes, swamps, forests and fields.
The cards will cost $5 and you can pick a license card from images of a black Labrador retriever, a brown pelican and a wood duck.
You will be able to transfer current licenses and lifetime licenses to one of these new cards. Hunters still will need to get deer and turkey tags to be legal for those seasons.
To purchase a licenses go to the agency’s website — . There’s a $3.50 “convenience fee” if ordered on a website.
Hogapalooza
Hunters for the Hungry is celebrating a nearly 100% increase from its 2023 donations of feral hogs to its statewide effort to feed the hungry.
The 2024 Hogapalooza tournament has collected 11,031 pounds during the past several weeks after the 6,500 pounds collected in the 2023 event. Most of the donations have come from north Louisiana hunters.
H4H leader Julie Grunewald said donations are needed to help defray the cost of processing the meat while Hogapalooza continues on this record-setting pace.
For a list of processors and other donatons into, go to this group’s website: or email Grunewald: julie@h4hla.org.
