The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will open a portion of state outside waters to shrimping at 6 a.m. on Friday, April 22.

This area lies seaward of Terrebonne Parish and extends a distance of three nautical miles seaward from the Inside/Outside Shrimp Line, beginning at the northwest shore of Caillou Boca at -90 degrees 50 minutes 27 seconds west longitude and extending westward to the eastern shore of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the channel red buoy line.

Trawl samples taken by LDWF biologists indicate white shrimp in the area have reached marketable sizes, and the closure is no longer necessary.

Significant numbers of smaller white shrimp remain in State Outside Waters west of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal at -92 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds west longitude, and these waters will remain closed to shrimping until further notice.

The opening dates for the 2016 spring inshore shrimp season will be considered by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at their May 5 meeting.

For additional season information, click here.

For more information, contact Jeff Marx (337) 373-0032 or [email protected].

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov or www.FishLA.org.