Sabine Dockside Shrimping Shut Down

[swglenn]

Dockside shrimping ends in Sabine National Wildlife Refuge



People were so piggy in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge that they won't be allowed to cast nets for shrimp from dockside any more.
View full sizeU.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceSabine National Wildlife Refuge
They can still toss the nets from boats, with longer hours for that sort of shrimping. The 124,511-acre refuge in Cameron Parish, the largest coastal marsh refuge along the Gulf of Mexico, includes about 300 acres of canals and bayous that will be open for cast-net shrimping, visitor services manager Diane Borden-Billiot said Thursday.
But dockside shrimpers left so much trash -- and showed so little interest in a proposal to close the docks to them -- that the docks and banks at Hog Island Gully and other spots around the refuge are now no-shrimping zones, she said. The other spots include Northline, Blue Crab, West Cove, Blue Goose Trail and The Wetland Walkway.
The refuge south of Hackberry is one of the few places in southwestern Louisiana where shrimp are easily caught with hand-cast nets, officials said.
Damage from Hurricane Ike had closed the Hog Island Gully recreation area for two years but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reopened it last September. It had to be closed for cleanup Sept. 24, officials said.
Rotting fish and other trash littered the wide, shallow fishing docks. People ignored signs telling them to empty their catch into baskets, separate the shrimp and return fish caught in the nets back to the canal. Other trash included ripped nets -- some still full of fish -- and bottles, cans, bags, coolers, socks, hats and shirts.
People also double- and triple-parked in the adjacent parking lot and parked illegally along the highway.
"We haven't had another open shrimp season since then," but invited the public to offer ideas for keeping it open, Borden-Billiot said.
She said only eight people went to a public meeting and only two others submitted comments, one by phone and one by email.
The suggestions either had already been tried, such as posting signs about the rules, or were too expensive, like staffing the docks full-time or setting up hoses to wash down the docks, which don't have any water lines to them, she said.
The new rules were made final Thursday.
Boaters can now cast nets from dawn until dusk, instead of starting at noon.
"That will open up a lot more space and time," Borden-Billiot said. "We will be eliminating those crowded small docks and recreational sites."