You have to be very careful trying to identify sharks as some are off limits. Likely what you will run across are primarily small bull sharks and blacktip sharks. Bull sharks can have small black tips on some of their fins but not nearly as pronounced as an actual blacktip shark. I would only keep a blacktip for sure as they are fairly easy to identify. You don't want to be caught with a shark you are not 100% sure what it is. What I gather is that the season is OPEN right now as long and you can keep certain sharks over 54" in length
http://wlf.la.gov/saltwater-creel-and-size-limits
I have a book about fishes of Gulf of Mexico or something and it shows the edibility of all the fishes and sharks are considered excellent table fare. Never ate one though. Some swear by them. Some of the fish they consider good table fare would blow your mind
6 Sharks: Closed Season: All Louisiana state waters out to the seaward boundary of the Louisiana Territorial Sea shall be closed to the recreational and commercial harvest and possession of all sharks between April 1 and June 30 of each year.
Small Coastal Sharks: Atlantic sharpnose shark; bonnethead shark; blacknose shark; finetooth shark
Large Coastal Sharks: blacktip shark; nurse shark; smooth hammerhead; bull shark; sandbar shark*; spinner shark; great hammerhead; scalloped hammerhead; tiger shark; lemon shark; silky shark* *Note: Recreational harvest of sandbar and silky sharks (ridgeback sharks) is not allowed.
Pelagic Sharks: blue shark; porbeagle shark; thresher shark; oceanic whitetip shark; shortfin mako
Prohibited Species:
No person shall take, possess, purchase, sell, barter, exchange or attempt to possess, purchase, sell, barter or exchange any of the following species or parts thereof:
Atlantic angel shark; Caribbean sharpnose shark; sand tiger shark; basking shark; dusky shark; sevengill shark; bigeye sand tiger shark; Galapagos shark; sixgill shark; bigeye sixgill shark; largetooth sawfish; smalltail shark; bigeye thresher shark; longfin mako; smalltooth sawfish; bignose shark; narrowtooth shark; whale shark; Caribbean reef shark; night shark; white shark.
Sharks taken under a recreational bag limit shall not be sold, purchased, exchanged, bartered or attempted to be sold, purchased, exchanged or bartered. A person subject to a bag limit shall not possess at any time, regardless of the number of trips or the duration of a trip, any shark in excess of the bag limits mentioned above. The practice of “finning,” that is, removing only the fins and returning the remain-der of the shark to the sea, is prohibited within and without Louisiana waters. Notwithstanding other provisions of this part, a person may fish for, but not retain, white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) with rod and reel only under a catch and release program, provided the person releases and returns such fish to the sea immediately with a minimum of injury.
07-13-2013, 09:18 AM
sharks on the beach
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