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A.  There is hereby created the Lake Catherine and Lake Pontchartrain Sanctuary for fish, shrimp, and other seafood and marine life, to be comprised of the waters of Lake Catherine, and its passes, the Rigolets, Unknown Pass, and Chef Menteur, and that portion of Lake Pontchartrain as follows:  the whole area from where the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Passes enter Lake Pontchartrain extending in a westerly direction to a point one and one-quarter miles west of the Southern Railway Bridge, being all of Lake Pontchartrain and its tributaries lying east of the Southern Railway Bridge, and all that portion of Lake Pontchartrain extending out one and one-quarter miles from shore along the Orleans Parish shoreline to the Jefferson-Orleans Parish line, and that area of Lake Pontchartrain along the north shore extending out one and one-quarter miles from shore and running from the Southern Railway Bridge to a line drawn between a point one and one-quarter miles southwest of Goose Point and Goose Point.

B.  The taking of fish, shrimp, and other seafood from the waters of the Lake Catherine and Lake Pontchartrain Sanctuary by use of trawls, skimmer nets, butterfly nets, seines, or traps or other netting, with the exception of cast nets, drop nets, or scoop nets, is hereby prohibited.  However, nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit the spearing of fish by any skin diver, operating for sport, while submerged in the water, and using standard underwater spearing equipment.

C.  The taking of legal catfish by means of legal hoop nets or legal slat traps in the sanctuary is authorized.  The use of crab traps in the sanctuary is authorized.  The use of legal trawls, skimmer nets, and butterfly nets is authorized in open seasons in the area of the sanctuary located south and east of the Interstate 10 bridge.

D.  The sanctuary created herein shall be administered by the Fish and Game Section of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission or its successors.

E.  Fish, shrimp, and other seafood and marine life may be caught or taken from the waters of the sanctuary by any method other than those prohibited above, including by skin divers operating for sport, while submerged in the water, and using standard underwater spearing equipment, during the seasons and in accordance with regulations now or hereafter prescribed by the legislature or by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries of the state of Louisiana appertaining to these waters or to the other waters of the state generally.

F.  Any violation of any provision of this Section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than sixty days, or both.  In addition, any gear or catch seized in connection with the violation shall be forfeited.

Acts 1999, No. 892, §1; Acts 2007, No. 296, §1.