Louisiana Bowfishing Permit 2024

In Louisiana, a recreational saltwater bowfishing permit for both the private and charter sectors of the recreational fishery will be required beginning January 1, 2024.

The permit is free of charge and will be valid one year from the date issued. The permit can be obtained only online through the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) website.

Individuals 18 years of age or older taking, or attempting to take saltwater recreational fish with bowfishing gear in the waters of Louisiana, or engaging in bowfishing activity below the saltwater line will be required to hold this mandatory permit.

Any person on a charter bowfishing trip, who pays a fee for that trip, is not required to have this permit, but the permit is required for the captain of that charter vessel.

The permit is being implemented in order to effectively manage saltwater recreational species, according to LDWF. 

The free permit can be received by visiting: https://ldwf.wlf.la.gov/bowp

source: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Gulf of Mexico Habitat Restoration Projects

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) recently announced that the agency will fund a number of habitat restoration projects in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana.

In addition, this funding is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional contributions for this work from project partners.

The money slated for the restoration projects is separate, but complementary, to restoration projects funded through the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment court settlements or the RESTORE Act.

Restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico include:

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana ($7 million): for engineering and design to restore 1370 acres of marsh in western coastal Louisiana. This funding is awarded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act and covers 3 projects.

St. Johns Water Management District ($250,000): to launch restoration of over 2000 acres of marsh, oyster reef and shoreline forage and nursery habitat along the northeast coast of Florida.  The project will benefit a variety of marine life including fish in the snapper-grouper complex, snook, red drum, and tarpon, spiny lobsters and shrimp.  In addition, this project may benefit endangered species such as sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish.

Coral Restoration Foundation ($200,000): to begin planting thousands of elkhorn and staghorn corals in the Florida Keys, both of which are currently listed as "threatened" and proposed for listing as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act

Coastal Cleanup Corporation ($17,000): to remove marine debris at eight turtle nesting beaches along Elliot Key in Biscayne Bay, FL.

Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium/Dauphin Island Sea Lab ($100,000): to remove 36 vessels or other large debris from Mobile Bay, AL.

In addition to projects in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA Fisheries will be providing funds for projects in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

source: NOAA Fisheries

2013 LASS Redfish Series Event 5

Sweetwater Marina in Delacroix was the venue for the fifth event of the LASS Redfish Series, sponsored by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, Shimano and The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

74 teams registered for a chance to compete for the win in Delacroix. This is the largest and most impressive turn out for a redfish event since the inception of the Louisiana Saltwater Series in 2010. The Delacroix event also brought in 31 anglers from out-of-state including anglers from Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama..

In order to compete in the Louisiana Saltwater Series Championship teams must either have a finish in one of the qualifying events within the payout for that event or compete in at least four of the six qualifying events.

A total of 209 redfish were tagged and released by LDWF staff as part of the Louisiana Marine Sport Fish Tagging Program, where anglers become citizen scientists for the agency, collecting invaluable data.  This was a record number of Redfish topping the 202 Redfish tagged and released for the two-day LASS Redfish Championship in 2012.

The next LASS event will be a jack crevalle kayak tournament scheduled for Saturday, July 20th on the New Orleans Lakefront near The Blue Crab Restaurant.

The next LASS Redfish event will be on August 10th at The Delta Marina in Empire and the next LASS youth event will be on November 2nd at Myrtle Grove Marina.

For complete information, including rules, regulations and registration go to www.lasaltwaterseries.com

The Louisiana Saltwater Series is hosted in conjunction with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation.

source: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Texas - Louisiana Red Snapper Joint Lawsuit

On April 22, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its commission joined together to file a lawsuit in United States District Court in Brownsville, Texas.

The lawsuit challenges an emergency regulation enacted by the federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that would allow the NMFS regional administrator to significantly reduce the recreational red snapper season in federal waters off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission chairman T. Dan Friedkin commented on the action, saying: “We have heard loudly and clearly from our anglers and other stakeholders that they expect nothing less from us.”

“The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, on behalf of recreational fishermen and those whose livelihood depends on reasonable access to red snapper stocks, has taken this action to send the message to NMFS that a nine-day season for Louisiana landings is totally unreasonable and unacceptable,” said Ronald “Ronny” Graham, LWFC chairman.

On Feb. 8, over the strong objections of state agency representatives from Louisiana, Texas, and Florida, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) voted to implement an emergency rule that could shorten the recreational red snapper fishing season in federal waters off the Texas coast to as few as 12 days and to nine days off the Louisiana coast, down from a projected 22-day season.

In 2012, the snapper season in federal waters throughout the Gulf was 46 days. In contrast, because snapper stocks are doing well and growing in the Gulf, snapper fishing is allowed 365 days a year in Texas state waters and 88 days in Louisiana state waters.

Just weeks later, on April 18, the Gulf council voted 8 to 7 to overturn the emergency rule, in effect reversing the Feb. 8 vote. Texas and Louisiana representatives said the lawsuit was an added measure of enforceability should NMFS not act on the latest council motion prior to the start of red snapper season June 1. The federal court has been asked to expedite its consideration of the case so that a decision is reached before June 1.

As published in the federal register on March 25, the emergency rule would empower the NMFS southeast regional administrator to reduce the red snapper season in federal waters off Texas and Louisiana. In Texas, federal waters begin nine nautical miles from the state’s coast and extend 200 nautical miles. The rule affects Florida as well, since all three states have refused to shorten snapper seasons in state waters to mirror seasons set by NMFS for federal waters.

The joint lawsuit alleges that there is no emergency to justify such a rule. The two states also allege that the emergency rule violates the federal policy of cooperative federalism by improperly attempting to regulate the red snapper season in state waters.

Although TPWD and LDWF are continuing to work with NMFS and the other Gulf states on a solution, the short deadline for challenging the emergency regulation required filing the lawsuit to preserve the states’ ability to address the issue in a timely and effective manner.

TPWD has received close to 2,400 online public comments and more than 230 emails about the emergency rule that could shorten the snapper season, with 97 percent of those commenting opposed to the rule. TPWD also received letters from various Texas-based organizations opposed to the measure, including the Saltwater Fisheries Enhancement Association, Recreational Fishing Alliance, and the Charter Fisherman’s Association.

The Texas and Louisiana agencies maintain that while a proposed shortened season will have no apparent conservation benefit, it would definitely have an economic impact. TPWD estimates that the originally projected 27-day season would generate at least $28 million from recreational fishermen in Texas, while a 12-day season would cut that figure by at least $16 million in lost retail sales in Texas.

For Louisiana, reducing a 45-day season to a nine-day season could result in an estimated decline in economic value of approximately $8 million to recreational anglers in that state.

source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Louisiana Yellowfin Tuna Tagging Program

During the fall of 2011, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) plans to launch a Yellowfin Tuna Tagging Program for the Gulf of Mexico.

The program will promote a culture of catch, tag and release in the recreational fishing community while contributing to the scientific data necessary to further understand the behaviors of yellowfin tuna.

Tagging tuna can provide information about their movements, migrations, stock structure, growth, population size, mortality, schooling behavior and physiology.

According to data from NOAA, the size and number of yellowfin caught are decreasing, and the downward trend has been happening since 1999.

"The new tuna tagging program will provide baseline information for the population models used to assess the health of the stock of this valuable fishery," said LDWF Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina.

"It will also help clarify the evidence that yellowfin migratory patterns have been altered by the presence of offshore oil platforms."

LDWF plans to kick off the program with a tag-and-release tournament at Venice Marina on Saturday, September 24.

With the success of the 2011 redfish tournaments, the department added a Yellowfin Tuna Fall Shootout to their Louisiana Saltwater Series.

By encouraging live tag and release, the series has focused attention on the conservation of our marine resources.

This is the first tournament of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico, and there is a 100 percent payout for first, second and third place finishers. Payout is determined based upon the total number of boats entered. A $5,000 prize is up for grabs to the chartered boat with the most tagged yellowfin.

There is also a kill fish division, and the team with the largest tuna weighed will win an offshore tackle package valued at $3,000.

There is a $500 entry fee per boat for the tournament, with a maximum of eight anglers total on each team.

Additional information, including rules, regulations and entry forms will soon be available at www.lasaltwaterseries.com

Louisiana Saltwater Series Fishing Tournament

The Louisiana Saltwater Series Fishing Tournament, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries opened April 2, 2011, in Lafitte, La.

The program promotes catch-and-release saltwater angling through a series of agency-sponsored fishing tournaments. A key aspect of the series is its focus on redfish, one of Louisiana’s most valuable sport fish. 

The grassroots-based tournament provides anglers with the opportunity to give back to the resource.  Contestants vie for cash prizes and test their skill while enjoying the thrill of the competitive sport.

Each series includes two-man teams with a $200 entry fee for each event. For teams consisting of three members, only two of the members may be 16 or older.  The tournament is a 100 percent payout series.

This year, a youth division was established to introduce young anglers to the sport of fishing, and to teach the catch-and-release approach to conservation. Participants under 16 years of age will compete against one another in a separate category for trophy catch; all youth anglers will be recognized.

The 2011 series is comprised of six fishing events and a championship. Tournament locations are scheduled across the coast.

For complete information, including rules, regulations and entry forms go to www.lasaltwaterseries.com

Louisiana Re-opens State Waters for Fishing

On May 12, 2010, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Robert Barham announced that the state’s territorial seas are open, effective immediately, from the Empire Canal westward to Belle Pass for recreational and commercial fishing.

“My goal is to have people out there fishing,” Barham said. “Every day we are making new assessments and decisions to give all anglers, commercial and recreational, every opportunity to utilize our state’s great resources.”

Gulf of Mexico Fishing Closure Extended

NOAA Fisheries Service modified the boundaries of the closed fishing area to better reflect the current extent of the oil pollution. All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area.

The closure will be in effect for 10 days, from May 7, 2010, through 12:01 a.m., local time, May 17, 2010, unless conditions allow NOAA Fisheries Service to terminate it sooner. NOAA Fisheries Service will continue to monitor and evaluate the oil spill and its impacts on Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) fisheries and will take immediate and appropriate action to extend or reduce this closed area.

source: Gulf Council press release

NOAA Closes Federal Fishing Areas Affected by BP Oil Spill

NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida’s Pensacola Bay.

The closure is effective immediately. For more information please see the attached press release or visit the NOAA website at: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100502_fisheries.html

Louisiana Closes Fishing Areas

On April 30, 2010, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, announced they will be closing select fishing areas as a precautionary response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

LDWF Secretary Robert Barham announced the closure of both recreational and commercial fishing in Zone 1, excluding the coastal boundaries of Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurapas.

BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig accident has resulted in a significant release of oil into the offshore waters of southeast Louisiana.

"I signed this emergency closure today as a proactive effort to prevent any oil-tainted fish, shrimp or crab from being caught and thus consumed," said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham.  "Now is the time to act as we see what the impacts may be to Louisiana's fragile ecosystems."

For a printable map (PDF) of fishing area closures, visit:

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/pdfs/news/FISHING%20CLOSURE.pdf

Officials with both agencies are working with the Governor's Office for Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Updates on any further closures or changes in the status of areas closed will be posted at: emergency.louisiana.gov.

To learn more about LDWF, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov.