For the second time this year, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Tyler Bosworth has added one fish to the allowed daily catch of red snapper for private recreational anglers for the Fourth of July weekend.
Beginning Thursday and running through Sunday, the daily catch will be five red snapper measuring a minimum of 16 inches. The usual daily creel limit is four.
Bosworth approved a similar plan for the Memorial Day weekend in May. The private recreational red snapper season opened May 1.
Bosworth also signed off on an across-the-coast closure of spring inshore shrimp season to take effect at sunset July 6. An exception to the closed area will allow waters in Breton and Chandeleur sounds to remain open.
The closure comes after sampling by state marine biologists showed the presence of undersized white shrimp migrating into inshore waters. The closure allows these shrimp to grow to a marketable size for an inshore season that generally opens in August.
Wildlife and Fisheries managers also announced that floodwaters had receded to a point where roads on the Grassy Lake (Avoyelles Parish) and Pearl River (St. Tammany Parish) wildlife management areas could open in time for the holiday weekend. The reopening of the Pearl River WMA also includes the Honey Island Shooting Range.
