La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § VII-308

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section VII-308 - Commercial Menhaden Reporting Requirements

A. Reporting

1. Companies taking menhaden by vessels equipped with purse seines for the purpose of reduction fishing shall report monthly, beginning in May 2023, commercial menhaden harvest reports. Reports for the previous month shall be due to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) by the tenth of the following month (the first report shall be due May 10, 2023 for the month of April 2023).

2. Monthly Reporting shall include the following data for each set:

a. year, date, set number, vessel, plant, set start time, and set end time;

b. location data in degrees, minutes, and seconds with a defined datum determined by global positioning satellite (GPS) navigational instrument reading;

c. estimated volume of harvest in 1,000s of fish;

d. length measurements, in millimeters fork length, of 15 randomly selected menhaden (5 from the beginning of set pump out, 5 from the middle of set pump out, and 5 from the end of set pump out);

e. Reports shall be provided in electronic form to LDWF in an electronic spreadsheet as specified by LDWF and containing the elements outlined above in this Section.

3. Beginning February 10, 2024, LDWF shall annually report to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment the commercial harvest from the prior year based upon aggregated data from the monthly reports.

B. Definitions

Fork Length-measurement of a fish from the tip of its snout to the fork of the tail.

Set-for the purposes of this rule, a "set" is defined as when a purse seine is deployed and encircles a school of menhaden, regardless of whether those fish are reduced to possession by transferring to the mother ship or steamer.

C. Confidentiality

1. Any data provided to LDWF under the provisions of this Rule shall comply with confidentiality provisions set forth in LAC Title 76, Part I, Chapter 3, Subchapter F. Any information LDWF provides to the public shall not indicate the captain, vessel or company.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § VII-308

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 4976 (1/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 56:325.5.