Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, Inc.
Partial Activity Report for the Period
August 9 thru September 13, 2007

Summary
During this period there was one dive monitoring trip conducted to the Casino Magic Barge in FH-1 and the St. John and Tuan Phong reefs in FH-13 on August 18. Additional deployments and other activity may be covered by the DMR under a separate report.

021119 Casino Magic Barge 324F1
Position: 30°03.147'N / 88°36.448'W
This 250' Barge was deployed in FH-1 on November 19, 2002 along with 60 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs). Two APCs were left on the Deck of the Barge near the Stern. It was desired to find these 2 APCs for observation since individually deployed APCs have not been able to be located. It is unknown at this time if the Aluminum APCs reacted with the Seawater or if they were simply moved by Storms, or a combination. Last month’s attempt was plagued by poor visibility and it couldn’t be determined with any certainty as to the existence of the APCs. This trip was met by better but still not ideal visibility, however, visibility was sufficient enough to determine that the APCs are no longer present on the Barge. Deployment pictures can be found by Clicking Here




060909a St. John, 436F13
Position: 30°00.391'N / 88°30.906'W 12464.5/47024.6/29619.4
Following the dive in FH-1, a dive was made on this Shrimp Boat sunk on September 9, 2006. Surrounding depth was 84 feet and a minimum depth of 47' was recorded at the top of the rigging. Measurements at the bow showed 77' of water clearance and 73' at the Stern. The vessel has a bit of a starboard list and the water depth measured about 86 under the Stern denoting some scouring into the bottom. Fish sightings included Red Snapper (10-12/1-2 lbs.), Trigger Fish (8-10/1-2 lbs.), Mangrove Snapper (10-12/1-4 lbs.), Sheepshead (8-10/2-5 lbs.), a lone Scamp, as well as numerous Spade Fish, Blue Runners, Tomtates, Cocoa Damsels, and Spiny Urchins. Overall the site has not started producing large game fish yet, but is a nice dive site due to its high profile and high population of life.

060909b Tuan Phong, 437F13
Position: 30°02.175'N / 88°31.349'W
This Shrimp Boat was deployed near the location of the old site marker buoy near the center of FH13 at the above coordinates on September 9, 2006. The surrounding water depth was 74 feet with a water clearance of 39 feet recorded. The vessel appears to have landed upright with the bow facing West. On this visit, the maximum depth read was 77 feet showing a little scouring. The roof of the wheelhouse read a depth of 64 feet and the minimum depth reading was around 49 feet. Fish and marine life observations were consistent with that of the St. John with the exception of a large school of Menhaden also being present here. Neither of these two reefs showed any Angels or Butterfly fish as was observed on the Gerald Corcoran Reef last month. Both reefs are showing heavy barnacle encrustation and marine fouling and are doing well considering they are just over a year old . The extra relief provided by leaving booms and rigging on the vessels has enhanced the amount of bait fish attracted on these reefs and also make them good dive sites since they extend up into the clearer water. Pictures and videos of the reefs can be found by Clicking Here.



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