Louisiana Administrative Code

A. Recreational bag limits regarding the harvest of reef fish: triggerfishes, amberjacks, grunts, wrasses, snappers, groupers, sea basses, tilefishes, and porgies, within and without Louisiana's territorial waters. Species Recreational Bag Limits 1. Red Snapper 2 fish per person …

A. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission hereby prohibits the taking and possession of jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) and Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) from within or without Louisiana waters. B. No person shall take, transport or possess within the territorial jurisdictio…

A. In accordance with Act 301 of the 1987 Louisiana Legislature, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has declared the weekend of the first full week of June each year as Free Recreational Fishing Days in Louisiana to coincide with National Fishing Week each year. On the two abo…

A. Commercial Season; Quota; Permits 1. The commercial season for spotted seatrout whether taken from within or without Louisiana state waters shall remain closed until January 2 of each year, when it shall open and remain open until the maximum annual quota is reached, or on the…

A. Seasons 1. The season for the commercial taking of mullet with a mullet strike net shall begin at sunrise of the third Monday in October of each year and close at sunset of the third Monday in January of the following year. Mullet may not be taken commercially with a mullet st…

A. Each crab trap shall be marked with a 1/2-inch stainless steel self-locking tag attached to the center of the trap ceiling, or a durable plastic bait-box cover. Said tags shall be supplied by the fishermen and shall have the commercial fisherman's license number (not the comme…

A. The recreational and commercial take of female blue crab from any of the waters of the state, whether private or public, or the possession of female blue crabs while on waters of the state is prohibited for a 35-day period beginning the second Monday of September for the year …

A. The following defines the requirements necessary to complete the program to increase and elevate professionalism in the commercial crab industry pursuant to R.S. 56:305.6. This program shall hereafter be referred to as the Louisiana Fisheries Forward Program. B. For the purpos…

A. Restricted Species Strike Net Permit 1. The commercial taking of black drum, sheepshead, flounder and other saltwater finfish species (other than red drum, spotted seatrout and mullet which may not be taken with this gear, and other than pompano taken under R.S. 56:406 and LAC…

A. Commercial Season 1. The commercial harvest of southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) in Louisiana waters, by any means of take with any gear, is prohibited from October 15 through November 30 of each year. B. Commercial Possession and Sale 1. A properly licensed commerc…

A. The daily take and possession limit for the recreational taking of southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) caught within or without Louisiana waters shall be 10 fish per day and in possession. B. Recreational harvest of southern flounder is prohibited from October 15 thro…

A. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission does hereby adopt the following rules and regulations regarding the harvest of billfishes including marlins, roundscale spearfish, sailfish and swordfish within and without Louisiana’s territorial waters. For purposes of this Section, the …

A. The following rules and regulations are established for the taking and possession of sharks (including sawfishes) (class Elasmobranchiomorphi: orders Hexanchiformes, Lamniformes, Squaliformes, and Rajiformes) from within or without Louisiana waters. The provisions of this Sect…

A. The secretary of the department may issue permits to any person to possess, sell, or transport any fish into Louisiana for scientific or educational purposes, including species whose possession, sale, or transport is otherwise prohibited by commission rule. A copy of federal e…

A. Bag and Possession limits, Recreational Species Bag and Possession Limit 1. Yellowfin Tuna 3 fish per person 2. Bluefin Tuna 1 fish per vessel per year as incidental catch during open seasons. B. Size Limits, Recreational and Commercial Species Minimum Size Limit 1. Yellowfin …

A. Recreational Regulations 1. The daily take and possession limit for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) caught recreationally within or without Louisiana waters shall be four fish per day. 2. The minimum legal size for the recreational taking of red drum shall be 18 inches total le…

A. Shrimp Records, Shrimp Packaging 1. Wholesale/retail seafood dealers, retail seafood dealers, restaurants and retail grocers shall maintain records in accordance with R.S. 56:306.5 and 56:506. In addition to the requirements therein, wholesale/retail seafood dealers when selli…

A. The use of crab traps shall be prohibited for a 14-day period from 12 a.m. February 2, 2026 through 11:59 p.m. February 15, 2026 within portions of Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Tammany Parishes as described below: 1. from a point originating from the intersection of the southbo…

A. Purpose. To maximize voluntary compliance with shrimping regulations and to reduce purposeful shrimping violations by providing adequate deterrence thereby reducing recidivism. B. Persons who are required to be monitored: 1. any person subject to a court order requiring monito…

A. The line of demarcation listed in Subsection B, separating inside and outside state waters, shall become effective September 1, 2018. B. Solely for the purpose of this Subsection, the shrimping waters of the state are divided into two classes, inside and outside waters. The li…

A. The following provision regarding VMS shall be applicable to all provisions of law requiring the use of VMS except where required by R.S. 56:433.1 and LAC 76:VII.525. 1. The vessel must have onboard a fully operational and approved VMS Device. Approved devices are those device…

A. In accordance with the provisions of R.S. 56:578.10 the following provisions shall establish the standards for packaging of shrimp in, or sold in Louisiana for wholesale and retail sale. B. Definitions Gulf of America Packaging—any package or container bearing the words “Gulf …

A. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission does hereby adopt the following rules and regulations regarding the use of turtle excluder devices. B. It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following while trawling for shrimp within and without Louisiana's territorial waters: op…

A. Purpose. Pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 56:673 and in response to a resolution from the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources to provide for a recreational fishing vessel traversing corridor east of the Mississippi River in Louisiana territorial waters to enhance s…

A. Any person, except those persons under the age of 18 that are not normally required to obtain a license for saltwater fishing privileges, possessing any one of the following fish species or species groups on board a vessel taken from within or without Louisiana territorial wat…

A. Recreational Take and Possession Limits 1. The recreational bag limit for the possession of tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis) whether caught within or without Louisiana waters shall be five fish per person, per day. B. Commercial Take and Possession Limits 1. No person shall t…

A. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is authorized to establish the Louisiana Catch and Cook Program and permit pursuant to R.S. 56:317. Notwithstanding any provision of the state Sanitary Code or any other law or regulation to the contrary, it shall be lawful for a retail…

A. Purpose. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission recognizes that the Port Eads Marina in Plaquemines Parish is a remote fishing destination, only accessible by water, and that recreational fishermen may fish out of that facility for several consecutive days. In order to transpor…

A. Policy. The stocks of black drum, sheepshead, and southern flounder shall have management targets established within this rule. Management targets shall be established utilizing a historical time-series of fisheries data, defined for each stock, as a basis of reference. The re…

A. Any person 18 years of age or older taking, or attempting to take saltwater recreational fish with bowfishing gear, or engaging in bowfishing activity south of the designated saltwater line described in R.S. 56:322 must have in their immediate possession a recreational bowfish…

A. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission hereby adopts the following regulations applicable to the use of yo-yos, trigger devices, trotlines, limb lines, jugs, and all other passive fishing devices containing a hook or hooks in saltwater areas of the state. 1. No more than 50 rec…

A. Recreational Take and Possession Limits 1. The recreational bag and possession limit for wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri, whether caught within or without Louisiana waters shall be five fish per person, per day.

A. Allowance of Fillets on the Water 1. Any fisherman in possession of a valid recreational basic and saltwater fishing license, or a license that conveys equivalent privileges, who can demonstrate to the department’s satisfaction use of a boat launch located south of U.S. Highwa…

A. Each dairy facility (dairy farm, receiving station, transfer station, dairy plant, single service containers and closures for milk and milk products manufacturing plant, milk tank truck, milk tank truck cleaning facility, finished product depot, final product transfer point) d…

A. All persons engaged in the production, processing, handling or selling of milk, milk products or other dairy products shall deliver to the state health officer, upon request, samples of the dairy products in his possession. The state health officer shall not be required to pay…

A. Samples of milk, milk products or other dairy products from stores, soda fountains, restaurants, finished product depots and other places where dairy products are handled, stored or sold shall be examined to determine compliance with the product standards contained in this Par…

A. Each bulk milk tank truck operator/sampler shall collect a representative sample of raw milk from each farm bulk tank prior to transferring the milk from the farm bulk tank to a milk tank truck each time raw milk is removed from the farm bulk tank. All samples shall be collect…

A. The following laboratory examinations shall be performed on milk and dairy products, including frozen desserts. 1. Standard plate counts, drug residue tests, somatic cell counts and cooling temperature checks shall be performed on raw milk for pasteurization, ultra-pasteurizat…

A. Each dairy farm, dairy plant including frozen desserts manufacturing plant, filled dairy products manufacturing plant, anomalous milk and milk products and other anomalous dairy product manufacturing plant, receiving station, milk tank truck cleaning facility, transfer station…

A. The state health officer shall perform the tests using the methodology prescribed in the PMO on the instruments and devices of each pasteurizer in each dairy plant and frozen dessert manufacturing plant indicated in the table below initially upon installation; and at least onc…

A. Except for those dairy facilities which require a HACCP Listing audit, a milk sanitation rating shall be conducted on each bulk milk tank unit (BTU), single service container and closure manufacturer plant, milk tank truck cleaning facility, receiving station, transfer station…

A. One copy of each inspection/audit report shall be handed to the operator or posted by the state health officer in a conspicuous place upon an inside wall of one of the dairy farm or dairy plant buildings, and said inspection report shall not be defaced and shall be made availa…

A. Each Bulk Tank Unit (BTU) or others receiving milk from one or more dairy farms shall provide qualified field persons for the purpose of inspecting and testing sources of supply and assisting producers.

A. The state health officer shall establish grades and grading protocols for milk, milk products, condensed, concentrated and dried milk products. B. The state health officer shall grade all milk, milk products, condensed, concentrated and dried milk and milk products produced or…

A. All milk and milk products sold to the final consumer or to restaurants, delicatessens, grocery stores and any other establishments that provide milk or milk products for human consumption shall be Grade A pasteurized, Grade A ultra-pasteurized or Grade A aseptic processed (UH…

A. During emergency periods, the state health officer may temporarily permit the sale of ungraded milk.

A. If at any time the lowering of the grade of a raw milk supply or dairy product becomes justified in accordance with §329 or §333 of this Part, the state health officer shall lower the grade of such milk or milk product and shall enforce proper labeling thereof.

A. If during an inspection or audit the state health officer finds a violation(s) of this Part, he shall record the violation(s) on an inspection/audit report. A copy of the inspection/audit report shall be handed to the operator or posted in a prominent place on the premises. B.…

A. When two of the last four standard plate counts or temperature checks, sediment tests or somatic cell counts of a raw milk supply fail to meet the requirements contained in this Part, the state health officer shall send written notice thereof by certified or return receipt req…

A. In cases in which the written notice required in §331 of this Part has been received by the operator and whenever three of the last five samples fail to meet the standard plate count, coliform count, sediment score, temperature check or somatic cell count requirements of this …