Last week we mentioned an issue the Cameron Parish Sheriff's Department was having with motorists and campers who drive along the parish's beaches. That issue had to do with vehicles getting stuck in the sand, or worse, getting caught up in the rising tide. Today, we have a different issue to tell you about in the same general geographic location.

It's not so much of an issue as it is a yearly phenomenon. I don't know that we have an official name for it but it has to do with bull sharks and the fact that the species finds the waters off of Southwest Louisiana to be the perfect place to give birth and raise their young.

Researchers at Texas A&M who have studied the creatures say the area just off Louisiana's coast is where hundreds if not thousands of bull shark females come to give birth. Currently, the new crop of "pups" has been making its way onto shore via fishing lines and nets.

Now, catching a bull shark is not uncommon in the waters of Rutherford Beach, but this time of year you're not supposed to keep them. The bull shark season won't open until late June. And when it does open the state limit on the species is one per boat.

In a story published by KPLC Television, they reported on two different groups of anglers fishing off Rutherford Beach who reported catching anywhere from 15 to 20 bull shark pups over the weekend. And yes, these responsible anglers caught and released.

Most of the sharks that have been reeled in are certainly immature members of the species. Bull sharks can grow to be 10 feet long or longer but most of the sharks caught on the Southwest Louisiana coast have measured a foot to three feet long. It's not uncommon for the sharks to hang out in the waters near the coastline until they grow larger. Then they'll swim out into the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

So, if you do plan on swimming or wading in the waters in and around Rutherford Beach or any of the coastal areas of Southwest Louisiana just be mindful there are sharks in the water, granted they are baby sharks and just like the song of the same name are best left undisturbed.

Now if the thought of swimming or fishing in a shark nursery has you a little spooked, you can always just hop in the truck and take a little ride. Here are our suggestions on where those roads might take you or better yet, what roads you really need to ride.

10 Must-Drive Roads in Acadiana

 

 

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