Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, Inc.

Activity Report for the Period
March 14 - April 10, 2003

Summary
During this period, there was 1 construction trip and 1 dive monitoring trip made. On March 14, the "Alicia M" Barge was deployed by the Coast Guard on FH-4. On March 15, dive monitoring was conducted on the Rowan in FH-7.

030314 Alicia M Barge, 334F4
Position: 30°10.434'N/88°53.826'W 12229.3/47062.4/29429.1
Surrounding depth was 30 feet with a minimum depth of 17 feet recorded. Landed Upside Down. SE wind at 5 knots. Current negligible. Tide=1.1, Lo=-0.6@517A, Hi=1.6@942PM. Tracking 10 Sats, Hoop=1.0, 9'Accuracy.



The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources was met onsite to deploy this small 30' X 45' Barge. This Barge sunk approximately 0.2 nm at 98° from the Gulf States Barge at about 3:10 PM on March 14. There were some steel pipes protruding above the deck, however, as the USCG pumped water into the vessel, she rolled over and landed deck side down. The vessel will probably settle further due to the protruding pipes.

While at the site, updated coordinates were obtained for the Gulf States Barge in FH-4. It was reported that this past year's Storms moved the barge north. This was verified by recording a 4 foot deep channel running from it's old position about a tenth of a nautical mile at 302° to its new position at 30°10.457N/88°54.034'W 12227.1/47062.2/ 29426.7. Ends of the Barge were recorded at 30°10.468'N/88°54.047 and 30°10.448'N/88°54.019'W. The prior Barge End Coordinates were 30°10.414'N/88°53.946 and 30°10.397'N/88°53.918'W.



931101 Rowan Crew Quarters, 133F7
Position: 29°37.230'N/88°23.863'W 12536.8/46922.1/29587.2
This 120' X 35' X 35' derelict crew quarter structure was deployed by Rowan Drilling Company on November 1, 1993 while the "Perfect Storm" was causing havoc in the Northeast. Sitting in 128-130 feet of water, this structure rises to a depth of about 96 feet providing an excellent reef for Amberjack, Grouper, and Snapper. This visit on March 14, 2003 proved especially productive for Amberjack. Limits were quickly reached with fish measuring 30-33 inch fork lengths. Diving observations were limited due to visibility going to zero past 90 feet. Above that level there were swarms of Amberjack (75-100, 15-30 lbs.) and several Red Snapper (10-12, 6-15 lbs.). Grouper were not sighted during the dive, but a dozen or so were caught, most an inch or two shy of legal (22" for Gag, 20" for Red). This year has shown an influx of Red Grouper not seen in these areas before. These Grouper are especially prevalent in FH-13, but almost all are measuring only 18-19 inches in length at this time.



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EMail Author: Mark@primofish.com