The 2003 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature recently concluded, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is pleased with the overall results. The majority of the bills submitted by the department were approved by the legislature and signed by the governor. The bills ranged from species regulations to enforcement policies to license issues. One of the major issues addressed by the legislature dealt with boating safety. Act 921 now requires boating safety education prior to the operation of certain boats for persons born after January 1, 1988. With the increase in boating accidents recently, this was an issue the department was very interested in seeing passed.  Also passed by the legislature was a bill that provided for the suspension or denial of a recreational hunting or fishing license to an individual who owes more than $250 in State Income Tax. They also passed a bill that authorizes the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to establish a program for the removal of abandoned crab traps. 

 Bills affecting commercial fishermen in Louisiana were also addressed. Among the ones passed include Act 1286 that reduces the minimum size mesh of commercial crawfish traps from three-fourths of an inch by three-fourths of an inch to three-fourths of an inch by eleven-sixteenths of an inch. LDWF Enforcement agents, following the passage of another bill by the legislature, will now check the proper labeling of fish being presented as catfish.  Overall the session was viewed as a success by the department. Major Jeff Mayne, the department's legislative liaison, said, "We are pleased to have worked with the legislators to promote and pass these issues. We feel they will help the department serve the sportsmen and the natural resources of the state."