Grand Isle: Open for Business
June 4, 2013Cenac case mentions local contributions
June 4, 2013
Officials have drowned a plan limiting recreational red snapper fishing to 9 days in federal waters, and a retaliatory bill filed by a local state senator therefore appears headed for the drink as well.
NOAA Fisheries announced that the season for Louisiana, which began June 1, will last until June 25. Louisiana state waters will be open for red snapper fishing on weekends only, Fri., Sat. and Sun through Sept. 30, with a 3-bad limit.
“During development of this final rule, NOAA Fisheries re-calculated the projected 2013 red snapper recreational season lengths of each Gulf state using updated recreational landings data as well as new information from Louisiana and Texas,” a statement from NOAA reads.
The recreational seasons for Mississippi and Alabama were set to last 34 days and will close on July 5. In Texas, the season was set for 17 days, scheduled to close June 18, with a four-fish bag limit.
After the feds shortened Louisiana’s season to nine days, state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Berwick, filed a bill that would have outlawed red snapper possession in Louisiana’s waters or on land, commercially or recreationally.
Allain acknowledged that its purpose was to get federal officials to the table of a senate conference room to discuss the season decision. The logic to that, Allain said, was that if the season needed a choking down to 9 days, then the resource must be in big trouble and Louisiana shouldn’t fish it at all.
Some observers have accused NOAA of imposing the 9-day season out of retaliation for Louisiana’s decision to not enforce an earlier federal shortening of its recreational snapper season. The bill banning red snapper is being pulled back, Allain said.
“These days are still punitive and I still disagree with the science,” Allain said last week. “We need to give Louisiana what it deserves in terms of a season and the allocation for the commercial guys. I will be gathering the members of the Gulf Council for discussion of this.”
Allain said that while he is certain his legislation shone a light on what was, to him, a clear matter of inequality, he does not take credit for the change in federal plans.
A new program for managing red snapper which will include greater state input has been under discussion but not enacted.
Steve Branstetter, NOAA branch chief of the Gulf region, said a strategy for such regional management is under development.
“They wanted to do it this year but we just didn’t have the time,” Branstetter said, adding that snapper seems to be in good and healthy supply. “It is showing that it is in very good shape now.”
A red snapper lies on ice after being caught. Lawmakers are currently deciding what to do with the snapper season in terms of length and the amount caught.
