The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) would like to thank Senator Kennedy for requesting approximately $3.2 million to procure innovative saltwater electrofishing boats through the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration (NOAA). These boats are the first of their kind, having the ability to operate in full saltwater conditions.
“On behalf of all the Fisheries staff at LDWF, the saltwater anglers of our state, and the citizens that rely on our fishery for their livelihood, we want to thank Senator Kennedy and his staff for their support of Louisiana’s vital saltwater fishery”, said Tyler Bosworth, Secretary of LDWF. “These new electrofishing boats will allow Louisiana to continue leading the way in revolutionizing active marine fisheries management through advanced stock assessment technologies.”
With Senator Kennedy’s help and the potential addition of four new electrofishing boats, LDWF will have the ability to perform stock assessments more effectively and efficiently than through gaining the ability to capture data on certain saltwater fish species that previous technologies were unable to capture. This will lead to better Fisheries recruitment data, leading to proactive, instead of reactive, marine fisheries management.
Saltwater electrofishing gear is much more efficient than the use of gillnets or seines for targeting multiple age classes of Red Drum, Spotted Seatrout, and Flounder (the stock assessment species LDWF is most interested in). These boats will allow better estimates of year-class strength with less uncertainty in LDWF stock assessment models. The addition of these types of time series will allow LDWF fishery managers the ability to forecast future stock conditions for recreational and commercially important finfish species with more certainty.
LDWF has become a leader in fishery management innovation across the country, with many states trying to replicate our methods due to their high rates of success. LDWF introduced LA Creel in 2014 to improve fishery data collection methods, which is tailored to fit Louisiana’s unique recreational fisheries and coastal areas. LA Creel, which has been certified by NOAA, has been recognized by other Gulf States to be the most accurate tool to count recreational fishing harvest and provide near real-time results to fishery managers.
The combination of electrofishing technology, which enhances our ability to count fish stocks, and LA Creel, which allows LDWF to accurately count recreational harvest, will keep LDWF on the cutting edge of fishery management and ensure Louisiana’s natural resources remain available to future generations. LDWF looks forward to working with Senator Kenedy and his staff as this funding works its way through the process.
