Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Adopts Notice of Intent on Permitting Changes

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries 09.06.13

Today, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission proposed to adopt several changes to fisheries-related permits. The changes were proposed in an effort to standardize regulations by reducing complexity, eliminating redundancy and streamlining the permitting process.

Old River and Lake Louis
Changes for Old River Lake, Vidalia and Deer Park in Concordia Parish and Lake Louis in Catahoula Parish call for the removal of the requirement to possess a special permit for commercial fish seining, thus both waterbodies will revert to current statewide commercial seining regulations.

Lake Bruin
The permit to commercially fish utilizing gill and trammel nets on Lake Bruin in Tensas Parish will no longer be required. Current regulations will continue to restrict gill and trammel nets to greater than or having at least a minimum mesh of 3.5-inch bar and 7-inch stretch. Commercial fishing will only be allowed during daylight hours from November 1 through the end of February.

Game Fish Fingerlings
Current regulations require that game fish farmers possess a Domesticated Aquatic Organism License and Game Fish Fingerling Permit. The Game Fish Fingerling Permit will no longer be required to raise and sell game fish fingerlings in Louisiana, but all previously established rules and regulations will still apply.

Toledo Bend SCUBA
In order to establish regulations that are consistent with the remainder of the state, the take of freshwater game fish with SCUBA gear on Toledo Bend will be strictly prohibited. The take of all other species will remain legal.

Interested persons may submit written comments relative to the proposed rule by January 2, 2014, to Randy Myers, Office of Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or via email at rmyers@wlf.la.gov.

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division(LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdictionanywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department’s Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a “game warden”, Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state’s commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state’s waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.