The following information is not an official copy of the laws in effect and should not be utilized or relied upon as such. It does represent an attempt to present, as a public service, a partial summary of the laws in effect at the time of the compilation of this page. Substantive changes to the law may very well occur following the compilation of this page. For these reasons, the accuracy of the information contained in this page cannot be guaranteed and the reader is cautioned that it is his responsibility to appraise himself of the laws in effect at any given time. These laws include those contained within the Louisiana Revised Statutes, particularly Title 56, the official regulations of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, federal laws, and any local or parish ordinances. Fishing regulations on state Wildlife Management Areas and Refuges may differ from those contained here. Contact the nearest Department office for WMA regulations. Contact your local Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agent for specific information.
Crabs may be taken with any legal crab trap, crab dropnet, trawl, trotline, handline, bushline, dip net or cast net. Dredges shall not be used for the intentional taking of crabs.
The taking of crabs by means of trawls in inside waters is permitted only during the open season for shrimp and with a legal mesh size (see Shrimp - Trawls).
No person shall keep adult female crabs in the berry stage (i.e., carrying the eggs or young attached to the abdomen). All crabs in the berry stage taken by any means shall be returned immediately to the waters.
Gear restrictions and creel limits may exist within certain Wildlife Management Areas, Refuges or other areas. Consult your local Wildlife and Fisheries Office or Enforcement Agent.
Crab Traps:
The baiting, tending, checking or removing of serviceable crab traps in use, the contents of such crab traps or their lines, buoys or markers is prohibited in public waters from one-half hour after legal sunset until one-half hour before legal sunrise.
No crab traps shall be set in navigable channels or entrances to streams. Traps must be placed so vessels can safely navigate.
Crab traps which are no longer serviceable or no longer in use shall be removed by the owner and properly disposed of or stored by him.
No person other than the licensee or his agent shall intentionally damage or destroy serviceable crab traps or the floats or lines attached thereto, or remove the contents thereof.
Each crab trap shall be marked with a 1/2-inch stainless steel self-locking tag attached to the center of the trap ceiling.
Tags shall be supplied by the fishermen and shall have the recreational crab trap gear license number printed thereon. Crabbers are allowed to use a durable plastic bait box marker as an alternate means of tagging crab taps. Crab traps may be attached to a trotline to which at least one end is attached to a nonfloating line and a visible float of at least 6 inches in diameter or 1/2-gallon volume size. Each crab trap on a trotline shall be registered with the department and shall have attached thereto a tag bearing the crab fisherman's license number*.
Each crab trap shall have a minimum of two escape rings. All escape rings shall be placed on the vertical outside walls flush with the trap floor or baffle with at least one ring located in each chamber of the trap.
The minimum sizes of the rings shall be two and five-sixteenths inches in inside diameter, not including the ring material. Rings shall be rigid and attached to the trap with material of a smaller diameter than the wire strands of the trap. Escape ring openings may be obstructed with material that prevents or hampers exit of crabs from March 1 through June 30 and from September 1 through October 31. Escape ring mandates shall not apply to those crab traps placed in Lake Pontchartrain by persons possessing a soft shell crab shedders license.
Crab traps are prohibited in the Tchefuncte River.
A recreational crab trap gear license is required to use crab traps, with a limit of 10 traps per licensed fisherman.
Size/Possession Limits:
There is no minimum size limit for recreational crabbers. The limit is 12 dozen per person, daily and in possession.
