La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § VII-341

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

Section VII-341 - Spotted Seatrout Management Measures

A. Commercial Season; Quota; Permits

1. The commercial season for spotted seatrout whether taken from within or without Louisiana state waters shall remain closed until January 2 of each year, when it shall open and remain open until the maximum annual quota is reached, or on the date projected by the staff of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that the quota will be reached, whichever comes first. The commercial harvest or taking of spotted seatrout is prohibited during the period from sunset on Friday through sunrise on Monday, and there shall be no possession of spotted seatrout in excess of the recreational limit during the period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

2. The commercial quota for spotted seatrout shall be 1,000,000 pounds for each fishing season.

3. Permits

a. The commercial taking of spotted seatrout is prohibited except by special nontransferable Spotted Seatrout Permit issued by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This permit, along with other applicable licenses, authorizes the bearer to sell his spotted seatrout catch.

b. No person shall be issued a license or permit for the commercial taking of spotted seatrout unless that person meets all of the following requirements.

i. The person shall provide proof that he purchased a valid Louisiana commercial saltwater gill net license in any two of the years 1995, 1994, and 1993.

ii. The person shall show that he derived more than 50 percent of his earned income from the legal capture and sale of seafood species in any two of the years 1995, 1994, and 1993. Proof of such income shall be provided by the applicant using any of the methods listed below.

(a). Method 1. Applicant shall submit to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Licensing Section) a copy of his federal income tax return including all attachments (i.e., Schedule C of federal Form 1040, Form W-2, etc.), which has been certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

(b). Method 2. Applicant shall submit to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Licensing Section) a copy of his federal income tax return including all attachments (i.e., Schedule C of federal Form 1040, Form W-2, etc.), which has been filed and stamped "received" at a local IRS office accompanied by a signed cover letter acknowledging receipt by the IRS.

(c). Method 3. Applicant shall submit to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Licensing Section) a signed copy of his federal tax return including all attachments (i.e., Schedule C of federal Form 1040, Form W-2, etc.) along with an IRS stamped transcript and IRS signed cover letter. Transcripts are available at local IRS offices.

iii. The Socioeconomic Section of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Office of Management and Finance, will review the submitted tax return information and determine applicant's eligibility as defined by R.S. 56:325.3 D(1)(b).

iv. The person shall not have applied for or received any assistance pursuant to R.S. 56:13.1(C).

v. The applicant shall not have been convicted of any fishery-related violations that constitute a Class 3 or greater violation.

c. No person shall receive more than one permit or license to commercially take spotted seatrout.

d. No person shall qualify for a charter boat fishing guide license and a spotted seatrout permit during the same licensure period.

4. The commercial taking or commercial harvesting of spotted seatrout shall be prohibited within Louisiana waters west of the Mermentau River.

B. General Provisions. The commercial closure shall apply to spotted seatrout taken, landed or possessed on the water whether taken from within or without Louisiana waters. Effective with the closure, no person shall commercially harvest, take, land or possess spotted seatrout in excess of a recreational limit in Louisiana. Effective with the commercial closure no person shall sell, barter, trade, exchange, purchase or attempt to sell, barter, trade, exchange or purchase spotted seatrout. Nothing herein shall prohibit the purchase, sale, barter or exchange of spotted seatrout off the water by licensed commercial dealers taken during any open period or which are legally imported into the state if appropriate records are properly maintained in accordance with R.S. 56:306.5 and R.S. 56:306.6 and those that are required to do so shall be properly licensed in accordance with R.S. 56:303, 56:306 or 56:306.1.

C. Recreational Regulations

1. The daily take and possession limit for spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) caught recreationally within or without Louisiana waters shall be 15 fish per day and in possession.

2. The minimum legal size for the recreational taking of spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) shall be 13 inches total length. The maximum legal size for the recreational taking of spotted seatrout shall be 20 inches total length, however, no person shall have in possession while fishing, or while on the water, more than two spotted seatrout which, when whole, is or was over the prescribed maximum size of 20 inches total length overall when measured with the mouth closed.

3. Captain and crew members shall not retain a bag limit of spotted seatrout while operating or representing themselves as a charter vessel or headboat. Captain and crew may engage in fishing activity to assist passengers to catch, retrieve, or land spotted seatrout, or to demonstrate to passengers how to catch spotted seatrout.

4. Not later than the regular monthly commission meeting of April 2027, the department shall present a stock assessment of spotted seatrout to the commission, provide data on whether the size and bag limits above are still needed in order to recover the stock, provide alternative management measures for potential size and bag limit increases if the stock has recovered to target, or provide further needed restrictions if the stock has not recovered to target.

5. On January 1, 2028, unless further action is taken by the commission prior to that date, the size and bag limit for spotted seatrout will revert to a minimum size limit of 12 inches total length and a bag limit of 25 fish per person, except as provided in Subparagraph 5.a.

a. Within those areas of the state, including coastal territorial waters, south of Interstate 10 from its junction at the Texas-Louisiana boundary eastward to its junction with Louisiana Highway 171, south to Highway 14, and then south to Holmwood, and then south on Highway 27 through Gibbstown south to Louisiana Highway 82 at Creole and south on Highway 82 to Oak Grove, and then due south to the western shore of the Mermentau River, following this shoreline south to the junction with the Gulf of Mexico, and then due south to the limit of the state territorial sea, under the authority of the provisions of R.S. 56:325.1(A), the daily take and possession limit shall be 15 fish, regardless of where taken, with no more than 2 spotted seatrout exceeding 25 inches total length. Those spotted seatrout exceeding 25 inches in length shall be considered as part of the daily recreational take and possession limit.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § VII-341

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 18:199 (February 1992), amended LR 22:238 (March 1996), LR 24:360 (February 1998), LR 26:2333 (October 2000), LR 30:1509 (July 2004), LR 30:2498 (November 2004), repromulgated LR 32:125 (January 2006), amended LR 32:1071 (June 2006), LR 37:355 (January 2011), Amended LR 49513 (3/1/2023), Amended LR 491939 (11/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with Act 157 of the 1991 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, R.S. 56:6(25)(a), R.S. 56:305.5, R.S. 56:305.7, R.S. 56:325.1 (A) and (B), R.S. 56:325.3, R.S. 56:326.3, Act 1316 of the 1995 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, and Act 1164 of the 2003 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature.