The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has developed a $3.5 million program to assist saltwater recreational fisheries that were affected in 2005 by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Recreational Economic Assistance program will fund recovery activities and urgent needs at coastal fishing access points throughout south Louisiana. “I encourage all eligible applicants to submit the necessary documents as soon as possible,” LDWF Secretary Robert Barham says. “These funds are crucial to the continuing revitalization of Louisiana’s coast.”
In order to be considered eligible for the program, facilities must be available to the public for recreational saltwater fishing activities. They must also be privately owned or leased and made available to state biologists for recreational surveys. So far, LDWF has determined that approximately 60 marinas are pre-qualified. The money itself has been long in the making, originally approved by Congress as part of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. It is estimated that the total infrastructure and economic losses to Louisiana’s fisheries from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and hurricanes Gustav and Ike last year total more than $750 million.—Jeremy Alford
