score 1 for Big Lake....CCA LA 2010 Legislative Summary

[cmdrost]

2010 CCA Louisiana Legislative Summary


HB 545 by Representative Baldone from Houma was filed on behalf of the commercial rod and reel speckled trout fishermen and sought to expand the season until the maximum annual quota is reached. Under the law prior to HB 545, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission established a season to run from the second day of January through the last day of July with a maximum annual quota of one million pounds. Because the number of licenses are limited (15 in 2009) during the last five years the average landings in pounds reported was 8,236. CCA Louisiana was successful in adding two amendments on the Senate floor to the legislation, one required that the speckled trout follow the same reporting requirements as gamefish and the second prohibited the commercial fishing of speckled trout west of the Mermentau River. Representative Baldone rejected these amendments and sent the bill to Conference Committee where the Mermentau River prohibition stayed in and the reporting language was removed.

What this means: No commercial harvesting of seatrout in or around Big Lake!


SB 339 by Senator Marionneaux was a constitutional to change the composition of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission from its current makeup to being the House and Senate Natural Resources Committee. SB 341 was his accompanying statutory change legislation that would also make the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees the commission. Despite heavy opposition by CCA Louisiana and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the governor’s Office, both bills advanced from the Senate Natural Resources Committee by one vote to the Senate floor. Senator Marionneaux chose to bring SB 339 to a vote first and because it was a constitutional amendment it required a two-thirds vote (26 votes), however when the vote was taken the bill failed to pass with only 8 yeas and 27 nays, thus killing this issue for the session as SB 341 was never brought up for a vote.

What this means: No political takeover of LDWF!


SB 573 by Senator Claitor was filed at the request of one of his constituents and would have prohibited the taking of red drum by a bow and arrow. Senator Claitor never brought the bill before the Senate Natural Resources Committee, therefore it died in committee.

What this means: Dead in the water... I've seen 2 diff. Venice. based bowfishing operations over here already since the BP mess started.


To read full report: http://www.ccalouisiana.com/cca/content/view/299/65/


Stay tuned....more big news to follow in the next month or so!!

[meaux fishing]

If there is only 15 licenses given out and almost 9000 lbs caught then it doesn't really won't affect anything... If a guide fishes 250 days a year with three customers each time and they get a limit of 1.5 lb fish that is almost 17000lbs year so you shouldn't be worried about the commercial fisherman really

[Ray]

There are more that could have been given out when the law first changed. But no one wants to fish commercially with rod and reel.