The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has announced an emergency closure of some coastal waters following the discovery of a large tar mat and concentrations of tar balls on nearby beaches.
Secretary Robert Barham said the action was taken in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, which will assist with the investigation to determine the extent, source and impact of the oil.
The area affected includes waters a distance of one mile from the shoreline from the eastern shore of Belle Pass to the western shore of Caminada Pass.
All commercial and recreational fishing is prohibited within these waters except for recreational and charter boat angling.
The harvest of live bait by wholesale/retail seafood dealers who hold a special bait dealers permit and who harvest live bait for sale to recreational fishermen exclusively is also permitted.