BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — A pair of Terrebonne Parish men were cited after Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) officials caught them tending crab traps during illegal hours on March 21.
Earnest A. Autin Jr., 67, of Montegut, and Carl A. Plaisance Jr., 34, of Chauvin, could face up to 120 days in jail and fines between $400 and $950, according to LDWF Public Information Officer Adam Einck.
Agents were on patrol in Bayou Terrebonne around 5 a.m. on March 21 when they observed a bright light bar from a vessel heading north into Madison Bay, said Einck. Agents stopped the vessel with Autin operating and Plaisance as a passenger, finding three boxes of blue crabs and three crab traps on board.
Tending of crab traps is prohibited from a half-hour past legal sunset until a half-hour before legal sunrise. The legal sunrise on March 21 was 6:53 a.m.
Agents seized the three boxes of blue crabs and returned them back to the water.
