The new Wahoo regulations will go into effect on June 20, establishing a five-fish per-person recreational bag and possession limit. Previously, there were no established recreational bag and possession limits for Wahoo.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Commission began this rule-making process at its February 2025 meeting, and the following rationale was provided to establish the rule:
- Trips with large amounts of Wahoo landed in Texas from the Flower Garden National Banks have prompted discussions of potential federal management of the species at the Gulf Council level.
- Preferred management of the species should be at the state level to avoid potentially more restrictive federal regulations for isolated events.
- LDWF has not observed any recreational fishing trips during LA Creel dockside surveys that included more than five wahoo per angler, so the impact of this rule should be minimal to the recreational angling public.
- Regulations will provide a precautionary approach in terms of reducing large one-time catches during Wahoo aggregations.
With these regulations now in effect, the LDWF can notify the Gulf Council that management measures for Wahoo are in place for Louisiana. LDWF utilizes the LA Creel program to monitor recreational Wahoo landings.