A nutria trapper bringing nutria out of the marsh.

It is estimated that approximately 16,424 acres of wetlands impacted by nutria as of April 2018. The chance of restoring or even slowing the degradation of coastal marshes in Louisiana will be hampered considerably without sustained reduction of nutria populations.

The Coastwide Nutria Control Program (CNCP) was established in 2002 to combat nutria in coastal Louisiana. The goal of the program is to remove up to 400,000 nutria each season from coastal Louisiana to reduce nutria-induced marsh damage.

We accomplish this by paying a bounty of $6/nutria tail to hunters and trappers registered in the CNCP. The program season runs Nov 20 – Mar 31.

Participation in the program requires a trapping license, completion of the CNCP application, and designation of property or properties to be harvested along with landowner information and signature. Public properties are available and instructions for registering these properties is in the application packet (see below links). All registered properties must be within the program boundary area which is all of coastal Louisiana, bounded on the north by Interstate-10 from the Texas state line to Baton Rouge, I-12 from Baton Rouge to Slidell, and I-10 again from Slidell to the Mississippi state line.


The Coastwide Nutria Control Program is federally funded through The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA).

Download the Nutria in Louisiana brochure

Nutria for human consumption

Nutria.com

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with the responsibility of managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources.