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Committee backs bill to tighten bass and white-perch limits in Atchafalaya Basin
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Summary
SB111, advanced by the Senate Natural Resources Committee, would set a 14-inch minimum and five-fish bag for black bass in parts of the Atchafalaya Basin and reduce white-perch limits to 25 fish with an 8-inch minimum; fishermen testified in support while department counsel noted historical data.
Senate Bill 111 by Sen. Kleinpeter was reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources on March 18 after sponsor remarks and public testimony.
Sen. Kleinpeter said the measure targets parts of the Atchafalaya Basin (from Highway 90 to Highway 190 in the sponsor’s description) and would set a 14-inch minimum length and five-fish bag limit for black bass in that area, and a 25-fish creel with an 8-inch minimum for white perch. He said the changes respond to local water-quality issues and anglers’ concerns that current limits allow too many fish to be taken.
Toby Poirier, who identified himself as a 62-year-old boat-dealer and Otis Bass Club member, told the committee the bass fishery is depleted, described community stocking efforts and said, “Every fish matters,” urging limits and size protections to allow populations to recover. Cole Garrett, general counsel for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told the committee the basin is a “unique fishery” with slow growth and high natural mortality. Garrett recalled a 14-inch minimum adopted after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 that was later removed in 2014 after 22 years of sampling that, he said, showed the limit to be “relatively ineffective.”
After testimony and brief comments, the committee made and carried a motion to report SB111 favorably. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote.
