Visitors engaged in crabbing spent the most time pursuing their activity during period 5 and the 

 least amount during period 1 (Table 2). Sport crabbers on Rockefeller spent 24,064 user-hours 

 during 1981 while those in southwestern Louisiana spend 378,000 user-days/year (U.S. Army Corps 

 of Engineers, unpubl., cited by Gosselink et al. 1979). 



Persons engaged in recreational oyster tonging on the study area spent the most time tonging 

 during periods 1 and 5 (Table 2). No parties interviewed were engaged in oyster tonging during 

 periods 3 and 4, the time of year when oysters are thought to be "bad." It is traditional in 

 Louisiana to harvest oysters only during the months with the letter "r" in their spelling (i.e., not 

 during the warmer months of May-August). Oyster tongers were active 3,876 user-hours during 

 1981. 



Greatest visitor use of an area occurred at the Miller Lake weir in period 3 and at other areas 

 outside the management units in period 5 (Table 3). Castnetters were attracted to the weir by the 

 abundance of brown shrimp in period 3. Fishermen sought speckled trout and redfish outside the 

 management units in period 5, when the shrimp take was limited to 45 kg/party. The number of 

 user-hours/day was often limited to the drainage structure in Lake 4 and the weir by the number 

 of castnetting sites available. Visitors often left the refuge without castnetting or participated in 

 other activities, such as crabbing or fishing, when castnetting sites were not available at these 

 structures. 



RECREATIONAL HARVEST 



Visitors entering Rockefeller Refuge at the Humble Canal landing in 1981 harvested 81,666 kg 

 of fish and shellfish representing 15 species (Table 4). Shrimp made up 54.4% of the harvest 

 (brown shrimp, 28.8%; white shrimp, 25.7%). The shrimp were taken by castnetting; 93.1% were 

 taken at the Miller Lake weir and in Lake 4. The harvest of white shrimp was similar in both 



Table 3. Total user-hours/day by periods of the year for different areas visited by persons 

 entering Rockefeller Refuge at the Humble Canal landing, 1981. 



a See "Creel Census" section for period descriptions. 



b All areas seaward of Joseph's Harbor. 



C A11 areas within the refuge boundaries other than Lake 3, Lake 4, and the Miller Lake weir area. 



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