Areas shrimpers anticipate early season

Tuesday, April 12
April 12, 2011
Ernest Eschette Jr.
April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 12
April 12, 2011
Ernest Eschette Jr.
April 14, 2011

Blessings that have been offered by priests and Tri-parish communities for fishermen and boaters during the first half of April could show early signs of benefits with the opening of two special location-designated shrimp seasons.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced Thursday that duo extensions to regular shrimp runs will be offered beginning with a five-day season (in addition to the regular spring cycle) for a select portion of inner-state waters. There will also be an opening of state outer-waters which had previously been closed to shrimping.


According to LDWF Secretary Robert Barham, the five-day special shrimp season will include state inside waters from the eastern shore of Bayou Grand Caillou northward to the intersection of Bayou Grand Caillou and the Houma Navigational Canal. The designated area will then run northward along the eastern shore of the Houma Navigational Canal and then westward to the western shore of Vermillion Bay and Southwest Pass at Marsh Island. The season will begin Monday at 6 a.m. and end at 6 a.m. on April 23.


The opening of outer waters will include areas south of a designated inside/outside shrimp line. It will begin at the U.S. Coast Guard navigational light at Caillou Boca and proceed westward to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal. These areas will remain open until further notice.

LDWF officials have determined that marketable sizes and quantities of shrimp are available for harvest in designated areas. A trip ticket report showed that landings for all species of shrimp in 2010 totaled approximately 110 million pounds and carried a dockside value of more than $117 million.

Opening day for the regular 2011 spring inshore shrimp season has not yet been announced, but is expected to be decided by May 5. Generally the spring season begins in mid-May and extends into July.

Monsignor Fred Brunet, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, who conducted a blessing of the fleet Sunday in Chauvin, said the event in that and other coastal communities is a “wonderful tradition.”

After he offered opening words and boarded a lead vessel, Brunet offered blessings on fishermen, boaters and bystanders that watched the parade of crafts to welcome in a new season of opportunity.