In its April meeting, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks approved a plan that will allow special spring alligator hunts in Pelahatchie Bay on the Ross Barnett Reservoir, an area where alligator hunting has not been legal before.
“We’re doing it purposefully to fall in the breeding season,” said Ricky Flynt, Alligator Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re also doing it purposefully before the vegetation emerges.”
Flynt said the reason for the hunts and the timing of them is to reduce the population in the area. He said complaints about alligators in the bay area are constant during summer and the population of alligators there is growing.
In a survey last year Flynt found 18 nests and is confident there were more. He estimated those 18 nests produced 350 to 450 hatchlings.
“The area in general is producing a lot of alligator nests and is surrounded by residential development,” Flynt said. “We’re seeing a chronic problem with alligators dispersing to the surrounding area.”
Targeting adult female alligators
By having the hunts during breeding season and when vegetation is less likely to conceal alligators, hunters will have a better chance of harvesting females, which is key to controlling the population.
“We’re purposefully trying to target adult females,” Flynt said. “They are going to be more vulnerable to hunters this time of year. We’re trying to increase the possibility of interaction with these females.”
The hunts are scheduled for May 5-7 and May 12-14, 2023. A random drawing will be held for 12 possession permits per weekend for a total of 24 permits.
Hunters apply in pairs and pairs that are drawn must hunt from the same vessel, which limits hunts to six parties per weekend. He said the number of vessels is limited because the hunting area is small at about 400 acres. The number of hunters per boat is limited to the boat’s capacity rating.
Flynt said the drawing is scheduled for Feb. 1-8 and any unissued permits will go into a second drawing. Permits will cost $100 instead of the normal $200 because opportunity is more limited than the regular season. Guest hunters are required to buy a $25 alligator hunting license which will also be valid during the fall season.
Each permit-holder may harvest two alligators over 6 feet in length and Flynt said hunters should experience good success.
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Plenty of alligators to hunt safely
“It’s still an area that gets a lot of recreation from fisherman,” Flynt said. “They (alligators) are still going to have an avoidance of boats and lights, but they’ve never been hunted before.
“It’s a target-rich environment with the amount of alligators that exist. There’s ample large alligators out there that every hunting party ought to harvest a 12-foot alligator.”
While alligator hunting has been allowed on a limited basis on the reservoir since 2005, it hasn’t been allowed in Pelahatchie Bay due to concerns about the residential areas around it.
Flynt said the structure of the hunts addresses that. Hunting in or near residential areas is prohibited and alligators cannot be dispatched within 100 yards of any structures such as piers, boat ramps or boathouses.
He also noted that alligators are secured and dispatched at point-blank range with shotguns using what is typically referred to as bird shot, so the method is safe.
“We want to stress the point that these people will not be shooting alligators out across the water,” Flynt said.
Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or [email protected]. Follow Clarion Ledger Outdoors on Facebook and @BrianBroom on Twitter.
