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mjw ®B iiVtii May/June 1996 $2.00 Ji^,l —»^*»^^^^y 55^«*r''f' 3 '^^p^^ r: ^^^ ^^^^^V if*-1 ^ r^tt *^.JLiV' Ag .* Louisiana Conservationist ISSN0024-6778 Volume48, No. 3 Baton Rouge, LA 70808 M.J. "Mike"Foster, Governor James H. JenkinsJr., Secretary Clyde W. Kimball, Deputy Secretary FredrickJ. Prejean Sr., Undersecretary John Roussel,Acting,Asst. Secretary Johnnie Tarver, Acting, Asst. Secretary Wildlife andFisheries Commissioners Glynn Carver,Many, Chairman Perry Gisclair, Cut Off, Vice Chairman Daniel Babin, Houma J. Comments Joseph B. Cormier, Lafayette JeraldHanchey, Lafayette EdmundMcllhennyJr.,AveryIsland John F. Schneider, Loranger Clyde W. Kimball, DeputySecretary DivisionAdministrators Hugh Bateman, Wildlife As Louisiana's water temperature begins to rise so does anticipation of Al Carver,Acting, Information/Education the boating public toward another fun-packed season of waterborne BennieFontenot, InlandFisheries activity. If you are like most Louisiana residents, more than 2 million William "Corky"Perret,MarineFisheries strong, you will take to our waterways this summer as a recreational JamesManning,Acting, Fur/Refuge mariner. Regardless ofthe activity that lures us into aboatwe all share a com- Winton Vidrine, Enforcement monlabel identifyingus as the "Boating Public." AsLouisianaboaters,wecarryonalong-standingtraditionoftakingtothe Magazine Staff MarianneMarsh, Editor watertoelude regimented workschedules mostofusendure indailyjobs. We MauriceCockerham, Information Manager useourrivers,bayous,lakesandstreamsasahaventoescapetheclockandtele- Andy Crawford, StaffWriter phone. But, toooftenmanyofus forgetthatevenrecreationalboatinghasasso- Clifton Coles, StaffWriter ciated risks thatclaim many lives and causenumerous injuries. Jim Walsh, StaffWriter I recentlylearned thatin 1995 Louisianaboatersfiledseveralhundred acci- Ula Simon, CirculationManager dent claims with Louisiana insurance companies and that 39 deaths and 81 Copyright 1996bytheLouisianaDepartmentof injuries occurred on our waterways. I was surprised to learn these figures WildlifeandFisheries. Thispublication isnot accrued in spite of a vastly increased effort by our Department to educate responsibleforunsolicitedmanuscripts,photographs boaters and rigidly enforce safety regulations designed toprevent marine acci- orothermaterials dents. So why the increase? Department experts point to several risk factors TheLouisianaConservationistispublished that have been amplified in recent years. l)Louisiana has experienced an bimonthlyexceptJuly/AugustbytheLouisiana increase in the number of boats utilizing our waterways and boaters are con- DDreipvaer,tBmaetnotnoRfoWuigled,lifLeAan7d08F0is8h,er5i0e4s,/270650-029Q1u8a.il centratingtheiractivitiesinlimited geographicareas. 2)Newuser-groups,such Second-classpostagepaidatBatonRouge,LA and as personal watercraftand performanceboats, are operating incloseproximity additionalmailingoffices. POSTMASTER:send to traditionalboaters and eachcanhaveconflicting usestrategies. 3) Although addresschangestoLouisianaConservationist,P.O. thisDepartment, alongwiththeU.S. CoastGuardAuxiliaryandtheU.S. Power Box98000,Baton Rouge,LA 70898. Squadron,hasformallyeducatedmoreboatoperatorsthaneverbefore,thetotal Regulationsofthe U.S. DepartmentoftheInterior strictlyprohibitunlawfuldiscriminationin represents less than20 percentoftheboatoperators onourwaterways. departmentalfederallyassistedprogramson thebasis These factors,coupled with increased horsepower options onlighterhulls, ofrace,color,nationalorigin,ageorhandicap.Any haveledtoadramaticincreaseincollisionaccidentsinLouisianaandacrossthe person whobelievesheorshehasbeendiscriminated nation. againstinanyprogram,activityorfacilityoperated As Deputy Secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the byarecipientoffederalassistanceshouldwriteto: Director, OfficeforEqualOpportunity, U.S. steward ofrecreationalboatinginLouisiana, Ihavepledged fullsupporttoour DepartmentoftheInterior, Washington,D.C. 20240 boating safety program and the idea ofcreating a safe boating environment. I urge each of our citizens who participate in the boating tradition to become T$h5i1s.7p5u1b.l6i0c.Adpopcruomxiemnattewlyas45p,u5b0l0ischoepdiesatofatnhisavdeorcaugmeenctoswteroef responsible boaters by taking a safe boating course and learning the rules and publishedatanaverageprintingcostof$23,910.44.Thetotalcost skillsnecessarytosafelyoperateaboat. Iaskthateveryboaterexhibitcommon omfenaltlpwrainstinpgusbloifsthheidsdfoorcuDmeepnatrtamveenrtagoefsW$i2l3d,l9if1e0.a4n4,dTFhiisshedroiceus,- courtesy to every other boater, and that each respect the other's activity and 2Pr0e0s0s,QuIanci.l, Dtroivper,ovBiadteoninfRoorumgaeti,onLoounisioauntad,oo7r08o0p8p,ortbuyniHtiaersveiyn presence. Iremindyouthatoperatingaboatrequiresskill,commonsense,good Louisiana.Thismaterialwasprintedinaccordancewiththestan- judgmentand safeboating practices. Don't leave anyofthematthe dock! d43a:r3d1s.fPorrinptriinngtionfgtbhyissmtaatteeraigalenwcaisespuesrtcahbalsiesdheidnpaucrcsouradnatnctoeRw.iSt.h theprovisionsofTitle43oftheLouisianaRevisedStatutes. 2 LouisianaConservationist /^ LOUISIANA g t • g Conservationist c IontentS Catching Louisiana's Blue 4 Acrabbing adventure in Grand Isle. ByMarianneMarsh The Low-Down on Louisiana's Specks 8 Alook at the speckled trout harvest and the reasons for peak seasons. ByAndy Crawford & Harry Blanchet When is a Ground Rattler Not a Ground Rattler? Jtk 12 Separating fact from fiction on poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes. By Bowidy Jeff ^i Sheepshead - PrimeTable Fare 15 Once a trash fish, it is now considered prime eating. K\1 ltef By Charles W. Frank Gulf Fritillary 18 L. The life cycle of a butterfly well known to Louisiana. By Gary N. Ross Ipl Nutria Itch 21 Scourge of the marsh. ByAndy Crawford 94 The Gulf's Crimson Beauties Red snappers on the rebound. By Chris Berzas The Joys and Pitfalls 26 ofTrailering Some TLC forboat trailers. Louisiana Wildlife Posters 28 Order forms and information. Education Corner 29 Nocturnal animals. ByAmy Ouchleyand Gay Brantley Law Lines 31 What's new in law enforcement? ByMaj. Keith LaCaze Front Cover GulfFritillary Conservation Notes By Gary N. Ross 32 Wildlife and Fisheries newsbriefs. Back Cover Canebrake rattlesnake By Latimore Smith Bayou Kitchen 35 Blue crab Next Issue 1996-97Louisiana By Wayne Miller Conservationist Calendar -PublishedbytheDepartmentofWildlifeandFisheriesintheinterestofconservationofLouisiananaturalresources. PhotobyMarianneMarsh wing Louisiana BY MARIANNE MARSH t's a hot, sunny, August day. Grand Isle State Park is full of people fishing, swimming, sunbathing and pi—cnicking. It looks inviting and very tempting but our group is on a different mission crabbing. — Imagine a family of three generations four young boys, three parents, two grand- — parents carrying 12 crab nets, two dozen chicken necks and a large ice chest. Up at the crack of dawn and out on the pier, everyone baiting nets, checking for crabs and generally having a good time. 4 LouisianaConservationist Crabbingisaventure forboth incomeand crawl in. When the net is smoothly and recreation in Louisiana. We are fortunate to forcefullyretrieved, thetwowirecircles form have this delicacy at our fingertips. From a basket, trapping the crab in the bottom. purchasing live blue crabs at the market to License requirements for crabbing varies dropping nets in the Gulf surf, there is a with intent. Commercial crabbers must pur- wealth of Louisiana blues close at hand. chase a commercial crab license in addition Louisiana is the second largest supplier of to a crab trap gear license. Commercial crab- blue crabs in the country, surpassed only by bing is defined as 11 or more traps set in NorthCarolina. The high demand and limit- water. Crab traps for recreational use are ed supply of blue crabs from the East Coast defined as 10 or less traps and requires a creates a substantial market for Louisiana's recreational crab trap license in addition to a industry, bringing a premium price to our basic fishing license. economy. Louisiana's 1994 blue crab pro- Dropnets do not require a license of any duction represented a significant portion of kind unless fishing from a boat or in a thetotalUnitedStatesbluecrabharvestwith wildlifemanagementareaorrefuge. In these 36.7 million pounds at a dockside value of casesabasic fishing license is required. On a $22.5 million. management area or refuge a Wild Louisiana Over the last few years the Louisiana Stamp canbeused in lieu ofa fishing license. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has There is no legal crab season, but peak issued between 2500 and 2800 commercial time runs from midsummer to very early crab licenses. According to Vince Guillory, fall. Crabs are migratory and move into project coordinator for LDWF in Coastal shallow, warm waters for mating. A female StudyArea 4, Louisiana has been a leader in crab in the berry stage can easily be distin- blue crab production in the United States for guished by the mass of eggs on the under- several years. "In the earlier years Virginia side. Louisiana law requires that crabs and Maryland led in crab production," caughtin theberrystagemustbe returned to Guillory explained. "We led in 1987-88 and the water, whether caught by a commercial 1991-92. Since 1993 North Carolina has had crabber or a recreational net. Possession or the lead, but we're still second." sale of these crabs is punishable by law. For Although some years are better than oth- additional information on Louisiana's fish- ers, Louisiana's estuaries consistently pro- ing laws a copy of Louisiana's 1996 Fishing vide an ample harvest. For those who want Regulations pamphlet can be obtained to catch their own, Guillory pointed out, through LDWF, local sheriffs' offices or local "The best areas are anywhere east of the sporting goods stores. Atchafalaya totheMississippi River, particu- Catching crabs is easy and can be done larly around Grand Isle and Fourchon. from a boat, a pier, along the roadside or at Crabs can be found running off the beach or the beach. Bait is usually chicken parts or along the roadside down Hwy 1. Lake fish heads, either of which is guaranteed to Pontchartrain is another popular crabbing PhotobyMarianneMarsh area but is probably less productive." The two favored devices for catching crabsaretrapsand dropnets. Thecrab trap is primarily used by commercial fishermen. It is a box made of chicken wire with an inner compartment for bait and funnel-like open- ings which the crab crawls through. The design of these funnels makes it difficult for a crab to retreat. The dropnet is preferred for recreational crabbing. These wire-rimmed nets are inexpensive and available at most sporting goods and hardware stores. Dropnets have two metal circles, one each at the top and bottom of the net. Bait is weighted and tied in the bottom. When the net is placed on the water bottom, it lies flat allowing the crab to May/June 1996 attractcrabs. Dropnetsplaced inanopen Constantly waterway such as a beach or a roadside checkingthe bayou require a float. Empty 2-literplas- nets will only produceempty tic drink bottles make great inexpensive nets and floats. Allow enough string from the disappointed floattokeepthenetflatonthewaterbot- children. tom. If crabbing off a pier, tie the net to Keeping the the pier. If there is a strong current, add nets undisturbed enough weight on thenetorbait to keep is one key factor it in place. to catching When crabbing in a popular spot be crabs.These sure to mark yournets or floats so as not children didn't have much luck to disturb someone else's fishing. Never astheychecked tamper with another person's nets or theirnets every traps or remove crabs. Rest assured an few minutes. arrest and a steep fine will follow if caught. The object behind crabbing, obvious- ly, is catching crabs. To do this, nets must sit in the water, undisturbed—, for a reasonable amount of time an extremely difficult task for children. I speak from experience. A child will not allow more than six or seven minutes to pass before pulling up the nets. Crabs are wise to nets. A lot of unnecessary actionwill only produce empty nets and disappointed children. These blue crustaceans have a per- sonality separate and apart from any other shelled animal. They're quick, smart and have a real attitude about being in a net. They can sidestep one in theblinkofaneye. Onemethod toavoid anemptynetis topull itup quickly, giv- ing the crab no time to scurry off. Another way is to start slow, allowing the crab to staywith thebait. It's really a trial and error system. But once the net is extended, thebaske—tprevents the crab from getting away until it reaches land. When the net is flat again on the ground, that little blue creature is out of there. Children find this retreat maneu- ver of the crab somewhat exciting. As the crab scurries through their legs they'lljump up and down laughing and screaming at the same time. At this point, a scoop net is reallyhandy. Crabs are not onlycrafty and speedy, Patience and persistence will eventually pay-off, with an afternoon crab boil but very defensive. Their primary as the reward. Although it is enjoyed by all, it is the responsibility of the defense mechanisms are beautiful blue experienced crabberstoteach the inexperienced howto crackand eattheir pinchers that display a natural, beauti- catch. ful, blue and orange color that warrants 6 LouisianaConservationist attention. Live crabs can be Beware, because | kept on ice (inset) while admiring the crab it will * for about a day launch an attack I without spoilage. onafinger,hand, Once cooked, fs. nose or anything § whole crabs trade A closeby. crab's °- their natural blue claws can clamp down with colorfor a deep enough force to reddish-orange. drawblood. This Boiled crabs are a is a good time to favorite among mention that seafood lovers shoes are neces- everywhere. sary if crabbing on a beach or It meansgood alongthebayous. eating andgood Once the funforeveryone. crabbing is done and the ice chest LDWFphoto is full, the feast begins. Live crabs can be Louisiana blues as my mother and I. kept on ice without spoilage for about a day. Asocialjauntto Louisiana'scoastal water- Keeptheminacoolshaded area drainingthe ways for blue crabs can be an enjoyable and ice regularly. Cooking dead ones is accept- fulfilling day. Go back to the group in the able only if they were recently caught. This earlier image: a long day on thebeach, an ice rule does not apply to crabs purchased at a chest full ofblue crabs, the aroma ofhotcrab seafood market. Crabs purchased at a local boil in the air, and the taste of fresh boiled market should be alive. Dead crabs suggest crabs still on the taste buds. a long storage period. Cooking crabs that Mission accomplished. » have been dead for several days is a serious health risk. Next comes the backyard crab boil. A good crab boil is rivaled by few backyard barbeques. The boil is prepared much like a crawfish boil, with spicy seasonings of cayenne pepper, salt, onions, garlic, lemons and a few inherited family secrets. Once cooked, crabs trade theirbeautiful blue color for a deep reddish-orange. They are then ready to eat. Cover the tables with newspa- per, pour the crabs across the table, sit down andbegin cracking. The only tool needed for eating boiled crabs is a pair of crab crackers for the claws (a pair of pliers or a nut crack- er works great). The rest is done by hand. When I was a young girl my family went crabbing along Pass Manchac. I remember hauling up nets, sometimes empty, sometimes full, and squealing as thecrabs retreat- ed back through my legs. Most of all, I remember cracking and eating boiled crabs untilmyfingershurt. TothisdayIknowfew peoplewhocancrackandeatasmanyboiled May/June 1996 BY ANDY CRAWFORD & HARRY BLANCHET past year has seen The incredible speckled trout fishing. Reports of specks in excess of5 pounds abounded, fueling a frenzy among coastal anglers to get in on the action. If past trends hold true, however, this could be a sign the seatrout fishery has peaked and catches are about to start a gradual decline. Before speck fanatics throw down their tack- le in despair, let itbe said this does not indicate that Louisiana seatrout populations are in trouble. The fact is that this favored recreational catch is in better shape than 10 years ago. So why the prognostication of lower harvests? Simply put, speckled trout populations cycle in response to various changes in habitat and weather patterns. Spotted seatrout often are one of the most notable species killed by severe freezes, with all sizes being vulnerable. The intensity of a freeze-caused fish kill will vary depending upon many factors. The most important aspect is the ability of spotted seatrout to reach deeper water, which does not cool as quickly as shallow flats and ponds. If trout can reach deeper waters, effects ofa sharp decline in temperature will notbe as dramatic as when they are trapped in shallower areas. Kills will be least obvious in deeper bays and most notice- able in shallow bayous, ponds and smaller bays. Fish kills resulting from freezing temperatures are rare in the open Gulf ofMexico. a Effects of freezes are often |reflected in fishing success. An Hillustration of this can be seen Hclearly in the 1983 season. 3Recreational harvest that year 8 LouisianaConservationist totalled an estimated 5.9 million trout. Then couple of years before effects of the three a severe freeze hit the marshes in December days of sub-freezing temperatures are which killed millions of speckled trout and known. forced others to relocate to deeper areas Anglers should know their catch does not including the open Gulf. necessarily serveas a markerof thehealth of Although data indicate that many larger trout populations. There are conditions trout were able to escape the cold tempera- under which catch is relatively low, not tures and survive, trout numbers still were because of lower numbers of fish but depressed and harvest in 1984 plummeted becausetroutsimply are notas readilyavail- to only 1.2 million. able for harvest. Freezes can drastically This decline was short-lived, however. In influence distribution of fish long after the 1985, harvest increased to about 4.7 million freeze and can have a major impact on over- and by 1986 had peaked at a record high of all fishing success for a significant period of just more than 10.5 million seatrout. time. During the next two years, harvest Salinities also play a huge role in where dropped some but this was partly a reflec- seatrout will be found during the summer tion of a 12-inch minimum size limits spawningand fishingseason. Ifsalinitiesare imposed in 1987 and environmental condi- high in the marshes, trout move closer to tions. The creel limit reduction to 25 fish per these nursery areas and easily can be found day in 1988 had an affect on catch by indi- by anglers in bays and along beaches. vidual anglers, but did not greatly affect Low salinities in marshes, on the other total harvest. The take during these two hand, result in trout that are more often years still was comparable to 1983. located in open Gulfwater, making itharder A severe freeze in 1989 began another for anglers to locate them. Flooding in the cycle. Department of Wildlife and F—isheries marshes similarly disperses trout. Lower samples showed predictable results near- harvest can be expected in the latter scenar- lyall thetroutcaptured immediately follow- ios, even if trout populations are healthy. ing the freeze were taken from the Gulf and To keep track of speckled trout popula- the lower bays. Equally as predictable was tions, the LDWF Finfish Section was estab- the sharp decline in recreational catches, lished in 1985 in response to recommenda- which remained low for a year (1990) and tions by the Governor's Task Force on thenbegan an upward movement. Saltwater Finfish Management. These rec- Despite the kills during 1989, trout har- ommendations also led to creation by the LDWF biologists keep vest the following year was higher (2.4 mil- legislature of a new license for recreational tabs on speckledtrout lion) than the year afterthe 1983 freeze. This saltwater anglers and a new seller's license populationsthrough illustrates the uniqueness ofeach freeze and for commercial saltwater fishermen. Act 295 sampling, using thedependenceuponaccess to deeperwater ofthe 1984 Legislative Session further stipu- experimental seines and tobuffer effects ofextremely lowwater tem- lated that proceeds from sale of the new other nets. peratures. The 1983 freeze involved a sud- den, dramatic drop in temperatures fol- lowed by a prolonged freeze. The hard freeze in 1989 was preceded by sustained relatively cold temperatures. Because trout populations had time to adjust to colder water temperatures and move to deeper water, they fared better when freezing weatherhit. Harvestduring 1991 shotup to morethan 6 million specks and has fluctuated only slightly since that time. ThefreezeinFebruaryofthisyeardidnot seemtosetup a repeatofthis cycle. One fac- torworking in the favor of the seatrout fishery is that cold weather prior to February probably pushed many smaller specks into deeper, open water. It will, however, be a May/June 1996 9 licenses and other gear licenses required for that if, for example, an unfished population taking commercial finfish would be be used produces 100 eggs, that same population to support research and management of salt- would produce 18 eggs when harvest is water fish species. occurring. Comprehensive sampling by biologists It has been estimated that an SPR of 16 from this section began in earnest in January percent is more than enough to ensurenum- 1986 and more than 1,700 samples have been bers of young spotted seatrout available to collected and analyzed annually since that Louisiana anglersarenotreduced. Thislevel time. Experimental gill and trammelnetsand is based upon observations over a 13-year seines are used conjunctively to gauge rela- period which included several freezes and tive abundance, year class strength, standing widely varying environmental conditions. crop and movements of various species Trout populations are considered healthy as including speckled trout. Sample sites are longas theSPR remains at orgreaterthan 16 arranged to cover beach, mid-marsh and percent. The population may be healthy at upper-marsh areasalong theentireLouisiana lower SPRs, but Department biologists pre- coast. fer to err on the side ofcaution. From these samples and other data on the Where do seatrout populations currently species and the fishery, age of fish and stand on this scale? Estimates are thatSPRis spawning potential ratio (which indicates between 19 and 24 percent, depending upon spawning strength of a given population some of the types of data used. It is easy to compared toestimatedspawningpotential of see that seatrout are not in trouble. an unfished population) are determined. If speckled trout health is determined in These data are used to determine if adjust- greatpartby looking at the SPR, would itbe ments in regulations are necessary. better to try to establish a higher SPR? That Spawning potential ratio (SPR) is one of depends on the goals of the fishery. If the the more common indexes in gauging the goal is to harvesta lot offish, you can't geta healthofspeckledtroutpopulationsinrecent higher SPR. More fish removed from the years. This figure indicates the number of fishery equals fewer eggs produced. If the eggs produced in a population being har- goal is to catch larger fish and lower har- vested as compared to an unfished popula- vests are acceptable, then some upward tion. Let's break that down into simpler movement of the SPR is possible. This terms. An SPR of 18 percent tells scientists means, however, that more fishermen will Louisiana Spotted Seatrout Recreational Catch/Harvest 1979-94 Millions 15 12 LDWFresearch clearly showsthatspeckled trout harvestcan drop dramatically in response toenvironmental conditions,butcatch and 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 harvestalso moves upwardasthose Total Catch, including releases - Harvest I conditions improve. 10 LouisianaConservationist