Commercial King Mackerel Season to Open July 1

The commercial king mackerel season will open July 1 in Louisiana waters and will close when the 1.18 million-pound quota is met.

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission set the season dates Thursday.

King mackerel is a significant commercial fishery in Louisiana. From 2000 through 2011 Louisiana has landed, on average, about 75 percent of the quota allotted for the western Gulf of Mexico.

That included more than 1 million pounds in 2011. A significant amount of the king mackerel landed in Louisiana is shipped to markets in the northeastern U.S.