Our Environment
The Port Commission works diligently to protect and restore the coastal landscape and habitats that surround the port so that we can enjoy their beauty and abundance.
Port Fourchon offers access to the best of what the coastal marshes of Louisiana have to offer, from recreational fishing – with a boat, with a kayak, with a cast net, or from the shore – to the most beautiful of sunsets.
Public Recreational Boat Launch
The Irvin P. Melancon Recreational Boat Launch in Port Fourchon provides a public access point to the sport fishing available around the port.
World-class fishing areas along the coast are just a launch away, from one-day fishing trips to a weekend “at the camp.”
The Greater Lafourche Port Commission provides this free public boat launch, equipped with a kayak launch, elevated restroom facilities, and ADA accessible ramps, for recreational use only.
Fishing
Fishing is a major industry in Louisiana, with one-third of all the nation’s seafood being supplied by the Gulf of America. Port Fourchon is located at the heart of the Central District of Louisiana, which leads the state in landings of seafood. The nearness of the port to Gulf fishing areas reduces expensive travel and increases available fishing time.
Lafourche Parish and Port Fourchon offer world-class recreational fishing. Whether it be surf fishing and crabbing from local beaches, coastal fishing, or deep sea charter fishing, the port offers numerous opportunities to a wide range of recreational users.
Visit the Lafourche Parish Tourist Commission’s website below for additional information about charter fishing and other local attractions.
Birding
The Port Commission works with nature conservationist programs like the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) to conserve the Maritime Forest Ridge as a bird-friendly environment and to preserve bird habitats throughout the Port Fourchon area.
Visitors to Port Fourchon can easily spot native birds like egrets and brown pelicans enjoying their home port throughout most of the year, but biannual migrations bring an abundance of neotropical birds to the area.
In fall and spring, migratory birds stop at two points in South Louisiana, Fourchon and nearby Grand Isle, during both south- and northbound migrations across the Gulf of America.
BTNEP and the Grand Isle Sanctuary Group sponsor the annual Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival as spring migration begins.
Migratory birds have been known to drop out of the sky out of fatigue as they reach land.
Birders from across the country and even internationally come to our area to witness the migration. More bird species can be seen here in one stop than any other spot in the country during migrations.
For information about the annual Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival, visit their website.
Local Beaches
Fourchon Beach
Fourchon Beach access is closed to the public.
Please see the links below for additional information.
CLICK HERE for the Lafourche Parish Government’s Boards & Commissions webpage, where you can scroll down to the South Lafourche Beachfront Development District entry for contact information and/or to make inquiries about Fourchon Beach.
CLICK HERE for the CPRA’s Caminada Headland Beach & Dune Restoration Project webpage.
CLICK HERE for an interactive map of all of the state’s CPRA Master Plan coastal projects.
Elmer’s Island
We get many inquiries about the Elmer’s Island beach due to its close proximity to Fourchon Beach. Although Elmer’s Island is not in Port Fourchon or under the Port Commission’s jurisdiction, it is a state beach and has been a popular local recreational area for generations.
For information on Elmer’s Island, please visit the webpage below or contact Julia Lightner at Wildlife & Fisheries at (504) 286-4041.
CLICK HERE for a link to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Elmer’s Island webpage.
