BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The commercial fishery for large coastal sharks in Louisiana waters is coming to a close.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the fishery is closing Thursday at 11:30 p.m. CDT. The timing is concurrent with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s closure in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
During the closed season, all commercial harvest, possession, purchase, exchange, barter, trade, sale or attempt to purchase, exchange, barter, trade or sell large coastal sharks or their fins is prohibited.
The season is scheduled to reopen in state and federal waters on Jan. 1, 2018.
The department says the season for the commercial harvest of small coastal sharks in Louisiana waters will resume on July 1.
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