BATON ROUGE, La. - A portion of the public oyster seed grounds east of the Mississippi River and north of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet will reopen on Tuesday.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says that area, within Harvest Areas 3 and 4, opens at one-half hour before sunrise on Jan. 31.

Daily take and possession limit has been reduced from 50 sacks to 20 sacks per vessel. Department officials say the reduced sack limit likely will reduce the threat to the oyster resources in the area compared to previous harvest levels.

The department also notes that the Lake Borgne/Mississippi Sound area, which is generally the area of Harvest Areas 1 and 2, will remain closed due to extensive oyster mortality and to protect a recent spat set.