Marine Resources Commission orders study of speckled trout quota increase
At a meeting Aug. 19 in D'Iberville, MDMR Executive Director Spraggins summarized the commission's request to staff, saying, "I think the three things that I'm hearing here are maybe raising the quota of what it would do to raise the quota and commercial speckled trout. Number two, the limit the size limit. Do we look at 15 in to match up and see what that would do? And number three is what it takes to qualify the qualifications as to whether we need to change that and the numbers." Staff were asked to study the quota, whether the commercial size limit should align with the 15-inch recreational limit, and licensing qualification requirements.
Any changes would return to the commission for a vote before going out for a formal notice of intent and a 30-day public comment period, with final adoption expected in October.
The commercial trout quota has remained largely unchanged since a cap set in 1996. The review also touches licensing "endorsement" requirements for commercial operators, an area of regulatory burden the commission has not revisited in decades.