HOUMA — In an unusual move prompted by the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, state officials have declared waters south of Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes open for shrimping.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham delcared the shrimp season open from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Atchfalaya, including waters between Freshwater Bayou Canal and the Atchaflaya Ruiver Ship Channel. Certain areas in the mouth of the river and in the Mississippi River Delta area were also declared open, all until further notice.
"Unseasonably colder temperatures and wet winter conditions have delayed brown shrimp recruitment and growth in inshore waters," a statement from Barham reads. "However, samples collected by LDWF Office of Fisheries biologists have indicated the presence of significant numbers of marketable size, over-wintering white shrimp in these waters. In consideration of the potential threat to these resources posed by the proximity of an offshore oil spill, this special season should provide fishermen with added economic opportunity through the harvest and sale of over-wintering white shrimp."
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