Back in December, the FFI Gulf Coast Council and its allies won a key battle in the year-long effort to establish new regulations for redfish in Louisiana. LDWF biologists have assessed that red drum numbers are in decline due to a number of causes, including wetlands loss and a doubling of the number of anglers since current regulations were established 35 years ago. A change in regulations is necessary to restore both Escapement Rate and Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) back to the conservation standard for the species.
At their December meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission amended their Notice of Intent (NOI) to match a proposal originally put forth by the FFI Gulf Coast Council – a 3 fish daily limit, 18 – 27 inch slot limit, with no fish allowed over the slot. The NOI was days away from being adopted into law.
One “conservation” group – along with their bowfishing allies – have continued to push for a four fish limit. Now, the Commission is looking to revisit the NOI once again at their March 7th meeting. The chart below shows exactly why a 4 fish limit is unacceptable and attempts to change the current NOI must be stopped.
That group is not denying that they would like to build a hatchery for the purpose of stocking red drum in Louisiana waters. This despite much evidence that hatchery-raised redfish contribute less than 2 percent to recruitment of spawning stock.
What can you do?
- Contact Commission members below and ask them to retain the current NOI.
- Contact your state legislator and let them know you support the 3-fish NOI.
- If possible, attend the March 7th Commission meeting in Baton Rouge and speak out!
In crafting your email…
Be kind and courteous. Please point out one or more of the following. Do it in your own “voice”, i.e., PLEASE DO NOT copy and paste what is below.
- Point out that since the current regs were set 35 years ago, we’ve had a vast increase in fishing pressure (doubled the number of anglers), a large amount of wetlands loss, and a decrease in the redfish forage base (mainly menhaden).
- That any angler reports of increased small reds in the marsh are good news, but the real problem is the number of fish making it to maturity. It takes 4-5 years, during which they have to avoid more threats now than ever before. At least 30 percent must escape or our stocks will continue to decline.
- That any rumor of building a hatchery must be tempered with the actual outcomes. It may provide more fish to catch, but not more fish to spawn. Of the 19 million redfish fingerlings that Texas stocks, only 1.8 percent reach maturity.
Again, if you can make the Commission hearing on March 7th, PLEASE DO SO. Meetings are held at LDWF headquarters, 2000 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge, LA, beginning at 9:30 a.m..
If you can attend, please sign up prior to the meeting start to speak on the topic. Instructions are given when you signup.
Members of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission
https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/commission
LA House Natural Resources Committee
https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Cmtes/NaturalResources
We greatly appreciate your efforts. It’s sad that we and our allies have had to fight so hard and so long against a group of fellow sport anglers just to do the right thing for the resource.
