re: looks like a push to change the limit on spcks in LA is coming or....

MS also had a serious issue with out of state gillnetters and has taken steps over the last few years to step up enforcement, but that’s probably another thread.

The difference with MS and TX is they don’t have the habitat in the form of the MS river constantly dumping nutrient rich water into massive estuaries. Their fisheries may very well be much more sensitive to overfishing, as food just isn’t as available to allow recruitment. LA is an entirely different animal and has to be treated as such.

Texas,

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Texas Parks and Wildlife coastal fisheries staff proposed the change, in part, to simplify regulations by having a single statewide limit on speckled trout as well as to protect and enhance the fishery. The move is expected to slightly improve the quality and quantity of the trout fishery in affected areas and offer a buffer against hits to the fishery from natural events such as severe freezes, outbreaks of toxic algae or losses from oil spills or other human-caused events. The five-trout bag limit has been in effect on the lower Texas coast since 2007 and the middle coast since 2014.

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Bama,

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Jason Downey, Alabama Marine Resources’ Enforcement Chief, said the speckled trout regulations will move to a slot limit, which means anglers will be allowed to keep trout that measure between 15 and 22 inches total length with an allowance for one fish over 22 inches total length. The bag limit will be reduced to six speckled trout per person per day.

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“In general, the public was supportive of making changes to both trout and flounder because people had noticed changes in their ability to catch these species,” said Marine Resources Director Scott Bannon. “They also realized the amount of people who are targeting these fish and how dramatically that has increased over the past few years.”

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Kevin Anson, Marine Resources’ Chief Marine Biologist, noted during those earlier public meetings that stock assessments conducted independently through the University of South Alabama indicated that both speckled trout and flounder populations are in decline. The harvest in the past five to seven years shows the trout breeding stock are not at a sustainable level. Although not as critical as flounder, speckled trout could reach that stage if changes (in harvest) are not made.

Anson said an increase in the trout minimum length to 15 inches would allow more than 227,000 trout to be returned to the water annually. The slot limit will increase the survival of the large, female trout, which account for the bulk of egg production during spawning activity.

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