Following rejection of a Notice of Intent (NOI) for new red drum regulations by a legislative committee last month, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) amended the NOI at their monthly meeting on Thursday.
LDWF biologists have assessed that redfish numbers are in decline due to a number of causes. A change in regulations is necessary to restore both escapement rate and Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) to above the conservation standard for the species.
In July, after hearing assessments and public comments, the LWFC passed an NOI that would have modified the daily creel limit as follows:
Current regulations:
– 5 fish daily limit, 16″-27″ slot with one overslot allowed
The proposed change:
– 3 fish daily limit, 18″-24″ slot with no overslots
This new regulation would’ve resulted in a 2 year recovery for escapement rate and an 11 year recovery for SPR.
In November, after a required period of public comments, the NOI was sent to a legislative committee for final approval. The Louisiana chapter of Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) successfully lobbied legislators to reject the NOI, much to the dismay of fly fishing and kayak fishing interests and other conservationists who supported the measure.
The NOI was then sent back to the Commission for changes. CCA requested a more liberal limit of 4 fish daily, 18″-27″ slot (no overslots). This proposal would result in a 29 year SPR recovery… unacceptable to everyone else!
According to comments received by LDWF, the biggest problem with the original NOI was the restrictive slot limit. After much discussion, and unanimous comments in support of, the Commission passed a compromise amendment which expanded the slot from 6 inches to 9 inches but kept the 3 fish per day limit. The amended NOI is now:
– 3 fish daily creel, 18″-27″ slot with no overslots
This new NOI will result in a 4 year recovery for escapement rate, and a 16 year recovery for SPR to the conservation standards.
Now the amended NOI goes back to the Legislative Natural Resources Oversight Committee. It’s expected that opponents to this NOI will again lobby against it. The FFI Gulf Coast Council and it’s allies will make every effort to insure that conservation wins out.
