Fall shrimp season set to close on Dec. 18, LDWF says

State inside waters west of the Mississippi River, portion of state outside waters affected

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced the closure of the fall shrimp season in state inside waters west of the Mississippi River to the Texas line effective Wednesday, Dec. 18 at official sunset, according to a press release.

Additionally, a portion of state outside waters extending a distance of 3 nautical miles seaward of the inside/outside shrimp line from the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island, as delineated by the Channel red buoy line westward to Freshwater Bayou Canal at -92 degrees 18 minutes 33 seconds west longitude, also will close, according to the release.

The following state waters will remain open to shrimping:

1. The portion of state inside waters east of the eastern shore of South Pass of the Mississippi River eastward to the Louisiana/Mississippi state line.

2. All state outside waters east of the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as delineated by the Channel red buoy line as well as all state outside waters west of the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal.

  1. All fishery jurisdiction waters claimed by the state beyond the three nautical mile closure zone.

Recent sampling conducted by LDWF biologists indicates the average white shrimp size in the waters to be closed is smaller than the minimum possession size, the release states.

The closure, which typically comes around this time every year, is designed to protect small white shrimp and provide an opportunity for the population to over-winter and grow to larger marketable sizes.

For a map detailing the specific closure areas, click here.