The fall coastal shrimping season ends Monday in all state waters except a few east of the Mississippi River, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
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Pending closures at sunset include Lake Pontchartrain, Chef-Mentour Pass and Rigolets Pass, Lake Borgne, the Mississippi Sound, the Mississippi River Gulf Coast Outlet, and the East Closure Sector of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Orleans Parish. It does not apply to the section heading west from the gate. The waterway's intersection with the Inner Harbor Canal and the open waters of Breton Bay and Chandelier Bay.
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The department said recent sampling showed that the average size of white shrimp in most of the state's waters is smaller than the minimum stock allowed by law. Officials said in a news release Thursday that the closure is necessary to protect the small white shrimp in these waters and provide them with an opportunity to grow.
According to the department, all out-of-state waters on the seaward side of the Inside/Outside Shrimp Line will remain open for shrimping until further notice.
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Monitoring of the remaining open areas will continue and the agency will close them when biologically appropriate, according to a news release.
