Saturday, August 6, 2011

Swamp People

Swamp People

Fast Facts About Hunting and Fishing in Louisiana

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  • Hunting and fishing for commerce and recreation are longstanding traditions in Louisiana, particularly in the Atchafalaya Basin.
  • The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries heavily regulates the state's hunting and fishing seasons.
  • There are regulated hunting seasons for deer, turkey, quail, rabbit, alligator, squirrel, raccoons, opossum, migratory birds and waterfowl.
  • There are regulated fishing seasons for crawfish, shrimp, oysters and seawater and freshwater fish ranging from shark to grouper.
  • Nutria, a rodent species that is considered a nuisance because it destroys Louisiana coastal wetlands, is hunted for population control and used as a food source by subsistence hunters.
  • An estimated 75 to 105 million crawfish–some for export and some for local consumption–are caught during the crawfishing season, which lasts throughout the year.
  • Shrimping season usually begins in April and is regulated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, which monitors catch and population sizes in order to determine season length.
  • Hunting season for alligator begins the first Wednesday in September and last for 30 days.
  • Alligator hunting is intensely managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, which only allows licensed hunters to participate and restricts the activity to defined wetland habitats of the Atchafalaya swamp and coastal waters.
  • Alligator hunters must obtain a license and a limited number of tags from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.
  • Alligator hunters must either own or lease land that is classified as wetland habitat in order to qualify for tags.
  • The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries only distributes tags for property containing sufficient alligator habitat that it has determined capable of sustaining an alligator harvest.
  • The goal of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries' alligator program is to manage and conserve Louisiana's alligators as part of the state's wetland ecosystem while providing benefits to the species, its habitat and other species associated with alligators as well as economic benefits to landowners, alligator farmers and alligator hunters.
  • The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries' alligator management program is one of the world's most recognizable examples of a wildlife conservation success story, and has been used as a model for managing various crocodilian species around the world.
  • Louisiana's wild alligator population is estimated at roughly 1.5 million animals; another 500,000 live on alligator farms.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting blog. I'm an animal lover, but I know hunters are necessary for population control and help fund conservation and national park maintenance and such. Great blog! follow +1

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  2. i would be still be ascared ot have to raom the swamps and have gators look at me with their eyes , good to see theres laws to protect these enviroments :d

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