Another side of fishing

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries recently did a survey of resident, freshwater commercial fishermen. Sport fishermen in this part of the country don’t usually think about commercial fishermen much unless they get their motor caught in a net or catch a trotline with their crank bait. Professional commercial fishermen don’t bother me. They play by the rules and follow the laws. But there are some “unprofessional” commercial fishermen who put out nets and traps and sneak out everything they catch. Most of these guys are not the ones that make a living at it. I prefer to think they are in the minority. Commercial fishing is much bigger in south Louisiana, and that’s where most of these responses come from. I found some of the information very interesting.

Here are some of the key findings:
* Eighty‐five percent of active freshwater commercial fishermen live in southeastern and south central Louisiana.

* A narrow majority of active freshwater commercial fishermen consider themselves to be “full time” fishermen, earning more than 50 percent of their income from fishing.

* About 90 percent of active freshwater commercial fishermen harvest catfish A majority of respondents reported using hoop nets or trot lines for gear.

* The four most popular freshwater water bodies for commercial fishing include the Atchafalaya River basin, Lake Des Allemands, the Red River and the Mississippi River.

* Other interesting characteristics of the average commercial fisherman in Louisiana showed they are an average of 50.7 years of age and have been fishing for 24.5 years; took an average of 106.5 trips in freshwater; used an average of 13 gallons of fuel per trip and spend an average of $142.17 per trip; and fished from a boat that is 18.4 feet long.

The survey revealed that the top two causes of conflicts (or potential conflicts) cited between commercial and recreational fishermen were theft and vandalism and gill nets, followed by boating issues, misunderstandings and recreational fishermen influence in the political process. The purpose of the survey, conducted last summer, was to collect views and opinions of an often overlooked component of Louisiana’s fishery. Additional information was also collected to help define the demographics of our commercial fishermen and the issues they contend with. You can see the entire survey results at the agency’s website —  http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/    Just click on the “news” tab to see the results.

Here’s my short take on this subject: 1) There are a lot of really good commercial fishermen who actually help fisheries resources 2) It is important that commercial and sports fishermen exercise courtesy on the water and respect each other’s rights  3) if you do see any illegal fishing activity, report it immediately to the LDWF with boat numbers, exact location, time and description of the violators. Don’t involve yourself in a confrontation over it.