Many southern fishing areas closed due to BP oil spill

It’s been almost two months since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig, and oil continues to spread countless directions into the Gulf.

This saturation has caused the closure of many fishing areas and beaches throughout the Tri-parishes.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), many waters from Plaquemines to Terrebonne Parish have been closed.

This includes waters in the surrounding areas of Grand Isle, southern Lafourche Parish (up to West 90th and East 62nd streets in Cut Off) and the eastern side of lower Terrebone Parish (east of La. Highway 55) – including major areas such as Barataria Bay, Lake Raccourci, Timbalier Bay, Lake Barre and Terrebonne Bay.

The same areas in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes remain closed to oyster fishing as well, including all waters east of La. Highway 56 and north to La. Highway 24 (Bourg-Larose).

Tri-parish closed oyster fishing areas are 13, 14, 15, and the southern half of Area 1.

The northern stretch of Area 1, which encompasses Bay de Mongles at the southern end and Felix Lake at the northern end, was opened to both fishing and oystering Friday.

The Dixie Delta Canal, Bayou Perot and Bayou Rigolettes remain open to fishing but closed to oyster fishing.

Lake Salvador has been kept safe and is open to both, according to LDWF officials.

In Terrebonne Parish, remaining open is Lake Boudreaux, Lake Quitman and everything further west with the exception of Lake Pelto and Bay Blanc, which sit much further south.

All St. Mary waterways remain open to both fishing and oystering as of press time.

For more information on the current status of any specific location, visit www.wlf.louisiana. gov/oilspill.

LDWF closes waterways to recreational and commercial fishing when it receives reports of oil, or an area may be closed as a precaution based on information the Secretary of the Department receives from field biologists, staff and trajectory models from National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Once reports of oil are received, LDWF conducts a field survey and immediate seafood testing in the suspected area.

If tests clear the area, the area is immediately reopened.

Citizens who spot oil are urged to call (225) 765-2800, and they should be prepared to give their name, fishing license number and coordinates of suspected oil.

Unfortunately, not all oil has remained in Louisiana’s waterways.

Some has reached the beachfront causing the closure of Fourchon Beach, but according to a voice message at the Grand Isle Tourism Department, Grand Isle beach is now open to the public.