The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will close the Vermilion, East and West Cote Blanche, and Atchafalaya Bay Public Oyster Seed Grounds to the harvest of seed oysters at one-half hour after sunset on Monday, March 12, 2018.  The area will remain open for the harvest of market oysters (sacking).

Recent harvest pressure has depleted the limited supply of seed oyster resources in these public oyster seed grounds. Protection of the remaining oyster resources is in the long-term interest of the oyster populations in these areas.

The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission authorized the Secretary of LDWF to take emergency action to close areas on an as-needed basis, based on biological data or if enforcement problems were encountered. The Secretary was authorized to take emergency action to reopen areas previously closed if there is no longer a threat to the resource.

Public notice of any opening, delay, or closure of a season will be provided at least 72 hours prior to such action, unless such closure is ordered by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for public health concerns.

For more information, please contact Carolina Bourque at 337-373-0032 or via e-mail at[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 atwww.wlf.la.gov. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.