2004
NEWS ARCHIVE
LDWF
Announces Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program
January 7, 2004
Maps:
The Louisiana
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a notice of intent
to establish a derelict crab trap removal program at its Sept.
4 meeting. The rule prohibits the use of crab traps within specific
areas during closure periods, designates all remaining crab traps
in these areas as abandoned and subject to removal, and allows
individuals to retrieve abandoned traps and bring them to designated
disposal sites.
A winter closure
in the upper Terrebonne Bay estuary and a spring closure in a
portion of Vermilion Bay were included. The Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is sensitive to private landowner
concerns regarding liability and public access issues, and this
trap removal project does not provide authority to access and
remove traps from private property. Authorization to access privately
owned property can only be provided for by individual landowners.
During the
winter closure, the use of crab traps will be prohibited for a
16-day period from 6:00 a.m. Feb. 28 through 6:00 a.m. March 14
within the portion of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes as described
below:
- From a
point originating from the southern boundary of the Pointe au
Chien Wildlife Management Area at the South Lafourche Hurricane
Protection Levee
- thence
west along the southern boundary of the Pointe au Chien Wildlife
Management Area to the Humble Canal
- thence
west along the northern shoreline of Humble Canal to its intersection
with Bayou Terrebonne
- thence
south along the western shoreline of Bayou Terrebonne to its
intersection with Bush Canal
- thence
west along the northern shoreline of Bush Canal to its intersection
with Bayou Little Caillou
- thence
north along the eastern shoreline of Bayou Little Caillou to
the Gulf South / South Coast Natural Gas Pipeline in Chauvin
- thence
northwest along the Gulf South / South Coast Natural Gas Pipeline
to La. Hwy. 57
- thence
south and then southeast along La. Hwy. 57 to its intersection
with La. Hwy. 56
- thence
south along La. Hwy. 56 to latitude 29 degrees 17 minutes 00
seconds N
- thence
east along latitude 29 degrees 17 minutes 00 seconds N to La.
Hwy 1
- thence
north along La. Hwy. 1 to the South Lafourche Hurricane Protection
Levee
- thence
north along the South Lafourche Hurricane Protection Levee
and terminating at the southern boundary of the Pointe au Chien
Wildlife Management Area.
The Louisiana
blue crab fishery is one of the largest crab fisheries in the
United States. In 2002, 50.1 million pounds of blue crabs worth
$30.7 million dockside were harvested in Louisiana. Over half
of the total commercial blue crab harvest in the Gulf of Mexico
originates in Louisiana.
The derelict
crab trap removal program has received growing support and has
been widely accepted. Several organizations and institutions,
including the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Louisiana
Crab Task Force, Coastal Conservation Association, Louisiana Wildlife
Federation and Louisiana Sea Grant, have pledged support of the
program and have been working with the LDWF in developing plans
for the removal of derelict traps.
The program
is a positive for the fishery and other user groups. Removing
derelict traps from the water will reduce navigational hazards,
user group conflicts with shrimp fishermen, and mortality of blue
crabs and other organisms.
All crab traps
in the closed area during the closure period will be considered
abandoned and may be removed, subject to the following rules:
- Traps may
only be retrieved from within the closure area between one-half
hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset from 6:00
a.m. Feb. 28 through 6:00 a.m. March 14.
- Traps must
be disposed of at designated disposal sites and may not be possessed
outside of the closed area.
LDWF Secretary,
James H. Jenkins Jr., announced that the designated disposal sites
for the winter closure are:
- Cozy Campers
Campground on Lapeyrouse Canal on La. Hwy. 56 between Chauvin
and Cocodrie.
Seabreeze Marina on Bayou Terrebonne on La. Hwy. 55 south of
Montegut and Madison Canal. - Pointe
au Chene Marina on Cut Off Canal at the end of La. Hwy. 665.
- Josh's
Marina on the canal leading to Catfish Lake behind Crab Shack
on La. Hwy. 3235 in Golden Meadow.
Louisiana's
derelict crab trap removal program is volunteer-based and should
provide an excellent opportunity for everyone who enjoys our coastal
waters to work together to help make a difference. The primary
volunteer days are scheduled for two Saturdays, Feb. 28 and March,
although traps may be retrieved at other times as specified earlier.
If either
volunteer day is cancelled due to inclement weather, then Saturday,
March 13, will be substituted. Additional instructions, maps,
supplies (tarps, grappling hooks, garbage bags and gloves) and
volunteer incentives will be provided to volunteers on the “volunteer
days” at the designated disposal sites. LDWF personnel will
be present at each disposal site these Saturdays to collect data
and to assist with unloading and crushing traps.
Additional
volunteer information can be found at the Derelict Crab Trap Removal
Program Web site, www.blue-crab.net/derelict.html, under volunteer
information.
In order to better manage volunteer effort and trap retrieval
activities, volunteers are asked to sign up in advance. Please
contact Vince Guillory, (985)594-4139 or guillory_v@wlf.state.la.us,
for more information or if you would like to volunteer.
The spring
crab trap fisheries closure will take place in a portion of Vermilion
Bay west of the Acadiana Navigational Channel for nine or fourteen
days and will include the opening day of the spring inshore shrimp
season in Vermilion Bay. More information about this closure will
be released later.
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