RS 56:322

§322. Seines or nets; size of mesh; classification as to salt or fresh water; crawfish traps A. The legislature recognizes the historic division of the state into saltwater and freshwater areas. The legislature also recognizes that this division is based in large measure on the variations of flora and fauna found within these two divisions. The legislature further recognizes that an exact line of demarcation is insusceptible of precise location by reason of the changes in water salinity caused by winds, tides, and rains. It is, therefore, the intention of the legislature that the following described boundary line easterly from the Texas state line to the Mississippi state line shall be used in dividing the state into predominantly saltwater and predominantly freshwater areas: The Intracoastal Waterway from the Texas-Louisiana boundary to its junction with Louisiana Highway 27 at Gibbstown, and then south to Louisiana Highway 82 and then east to its junction with the Intracoastal Waterway at Forked Island, the Intracoastal Waterway from Forked Island to Bayou Barataria to the Harvey Canal, the Harvey Canal to the Mississippi River, the Mississippi River to the Industrial Canal, the Industrial Canal to the Intracoastal Waterway, the Intracoastal Waterway to the Rigolets in Orleans Parish to the Louisville and Nashville railroad bridge, the Louisville and Nashville railroad right-of-way from the Orleans Parish line to the Mississippi state line. B. The areas south of the above-described boundary line, plus the saltwater lakes known as Lake Maurepas; Lake Pontchartrain; Lake St. Catherine; Chef Menteur Pass, except that seven-tenths of a mile section from Bayou Sauvage south to the Intracoastal Waterway; the Rigolets; Unknown Pass; Pass Manchac; and that portion of the Calcasieu Ship Channel from the Intracoastal Waterway south to the Gulf of Mexico, shall be designated as saltwater areas. C. The following provisions shall apply to saltwater areas: (1) Hoop nets. For the taking of commercial fish, a person may have in possession or in use hoop nets with a mesh of not less than one inch square or two inches stretched after treating with tar or copper. (2)-(4) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 1316, §3. (5) Monofilament, multifilament, or other materials. (a) Except as provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, the use and possession of trammel nets, gill nets, and seines constructed of monofilament, multifilament, or other materials is prohibited, except as provided in R.S. 56:318 and 320.2. (b) The nets defined in R.S. 56:8 ("Mullet strike net" and "Pompano strike net") are not prohibited, but shall not be constructed of monofilament. (6) Purse seines. (a) The use of purse seines for the taking of finfish, other than menhaden and herring-like species, shall be prohibited in inside waters as delineated by R.S. 56:495. (b) The use of purse seines for the taking of finfish, other than menhaden and herring-like species, shall be prohibited in outside waters as delineated by R.S. 56:495. (c) Except as provided in R.S. 56:324, possession of red drum or spotted sea trout on board any vessel on which a purse seine is also on board, within or without the waters of Louisiana, is prohibited. Any agent who finds a vessel with such fish and equipment on board shall seize the vessel, fish, and equipment. Whoever violates the provisions of this Paragraph shall be fined eight hundred and fifty dollars per each hundredweight of red drum or spotted sea trout which are confiscated and shall forfeit each purse seine found on board at the time of confiscation. (7) Unattended nets. No nets or beam trawls used for taking fish or shrimp from the saltwater areas of the state shall be left unattended as defined in R.S. 56:8, except such legal nets or trawls which are attached to a wharf at a camp and which are tagged with a department tag issued in conjunction with the gear being used. Any net or beam trawl which is seized for a violation of this Paragraph shall be considered abandoned. Hoop nets, without leads, may be left unattended in the saltwater areas of the state for the sole purpose of taking legal commercial catfish species. (8) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 1316, §3. D. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B herein, the areas north of the above described boundary line shall be designated as freshwater areas. E. The following provisions shall apply in freshwater areas: (1) Hoop nets. For the taking of commercial fish a person may have in possession or in use hoop nets with a mesh of not less than one inch square or two inches stretched after treating with tar or copper; however, a person may have in possession or in use hoop nets with a mesh of not less than two inches square or four inches stretched after treating with tar or copper for the taking of commercial fish from a freshwater lake located wholly within Caddo Parish. (2) Seines. For the taking of commercial fish a person may have in possession or use seines with a minimum mesh of not less than two inches square or four inches stretched after treating with tar or copper, except as provided for in R.S. 56:322.1. No seine in use shall exceed one thousand two hundred feet in length. (3) Trammel nets. For the taking of commercial fish a person may have in possession or in use trammel nets with a minimum mesh of not less than three inches square or six inches stretched, after treating with tar or copper. No trammel net in use shall exceed one thousand two hundred feet in length. (4) Gill nets. For the taking of commercial fish a person may have in possession or in use gill nets with a minimum mesh of not less than three inches square or six inches stretched after treating with tar or copper, except as provided by R.S. 56:322.2. No gill net in use shall exceed one thousand two hundred feet in length. (5) Wire nets. A person may have in his possession or in use only those wire nets with a mesh no less than one inch square or two inches stretched. F. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the waters of the Intracoastal Waterway in Orleans Parish from the overhead power lines at the Interharbor Navigation Canal east to the Rigolets shall be considered both salt and fresh water for the purposes of authorizing the taking or possessing fish or the use or possession of gear. Commercial fishing operations in these waters shall not interfere with normal commercial traffic. G. Repealed by Acts 1986, No. 904, §4. H. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to shrimp or menhaden fishing, and nothing contained herein is intended or shall be construed to repeal, amend, or otherwise modify the provisions of law applicable to shrimp or menhaden fishing. I. The minimum mesh size for traps used to harvest wild crawfish for commercial purposes shall be a hexagon of three-quarters by eleven-sixteenths of one inch. This measurement shall be from wire to wire, and any coating on the wire shall not be considered in computing the measurements. Crawfish may be taken commercially with approved crawfish traps. The openings of the flues and throats on crawfish traps shall not exceed two inches. Any administrative rule may be promulgated to implement the provisions of this Subsection and shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and shall be subject to oversight by the House and Senate natural resources committees. J. Violation of any of the provisions of this Section, except for Paragraphs (C)(5), (6), and (7), constitutes a class four violation. Violation of any of the provisions of Paragraph (C)(5), (6), or (7) of this Section constitutes a class five violation. Acts 1991, No. 868, §1; Acts 1991, No. 886, §1; Acts 1992, No. 49, §1; Acts 1992, No. 528, §1, eff. June 29, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 543, §2; Acts 1995, No. 583, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1080, §2; Acts 1995, No. 1316, §§2, 3; Acts 1997, No. 144, §1; Acts 1997, No. 267, §1, eff. June 17, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1181, §1; Acts 1999, No. 423, §1; Acts 2001, No. 51, §1; Acts 2001, No. 333, §1; Acts 2001, No. 548, §1; Acts 2003, No. 274, §1; Acts 2003, No. 379, §1 Acts 2003, No. 1286, §1, eff. July 15, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 97, §1, eff. Nov. 15, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 226, §1; Acts 2010, No. 746, §1; Acts 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 33, §1.