Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, Inc.

Activity Report for the Period
September 13, 2007 thru May8, 2008

Summary
During this period there were two dive monitoring trips and 4 construction trips conducted. On November 17 a trip was made to the Kay Eckstein and Gerald Corcoran (Linda Susan) reefs in FH-13, but poor visibility hampered efforts. On April 20 a trip was made to the Gerald Corcoran and Tuan Phong reefs in FH-13. The newly purchased Video Camera was used for the first time on this trip. Deployments of Culverts were made on April 23, April 25, April 30, and May 5 to FH-2, FH-1, FH-13 and FH-3, respectively. Additional deployments and other activity may be covered by the DMR under separate reports.

050520 Kay A Eckstein, 431F13
Position: 29°59.552'N / 88°29.700'W

This large 150 foot Mississippi River Tugboat was sunk on May 20, 2005 in the southeast corner of FH-13 in about 88 feet of water. A report was presented in November 2006 that assessed the significant damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Poor Visibility on that trip hampered efforts as well as on this trip. The Vessel sustained significant damage pushing it down into the bottom, but it is still a viable reef. Readings indicated a surrounding depth of 87 feet, max depth of 100 feet and minimum depth of 73 feet. A compass reading of 295° was taken of the bow heading. Most of the structure read depths of 80 to 95 feet of depth. Fish observations included Spade Fish (50-75 count), Mangrove Snapper (25-30 count), Triggerfish (10-15 count), Red Snapper (20-25 count/2-15 lbs.), and Flounder (15-20 count/1-5 lbs.). This trip was made on November 17, 2007 with pictures recorded at href=http://gallery.primofish.com/2007/Fishing-Diving/MGFB/Eckstein-Corcoran/. Fishing efforts showed the reef to be producing large Red Snapper.

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 is 74 feet with a minimum depth reading of 44 feet taken at the top of both forward and aft booms. This reef shows heavy barnacle encrustation on the booms and a thick population of Spades and Sheepshead encompassing these booms. Fish observations included a nice Cobia (~30 lbs.), Red Snapper (6-10/1-3 lbs.), Triggerfish (4-6), Gag Grouper (2/5-10 lbs.), Scamp Grouper (1), Mangrove Snapper (5-8), Tomtates (5-8), Spadefish (75-100), and Sheepshead (30-50/2-6 lbs.).

Deployments
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) handled the deployments using Matthew Marine as the Contractor. Their Barge was loaded and the material was split into 2 separate deployments on each trip. The Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport donated most of the material, but some came from the Bacaran Bay Site off Caillavet Street in Biloxi and some came from the CCA and Mississippi Power Company (MPCo). The names listed below reflect the source of the material. With the exception of FH-1 the Sites received large Culverts, most of which were 3 to 4 feet in diameter and 8-10 feet long. The first deployment in the FH-1 Site received Concrete Missile Sinkers that were used for ballast in training exercises in the missile launch tubes in nuclear submarines. There were 24 units measuring about 8 feet in length and 5 feet in diameter. The second deployment in the FH-1 Site received 8 Buoys that measured about 12 feet in diameter and 7 feet tall. All the FH-1 material was donated by the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.

080423a NCBC Culverts A, 477F2
Position: 30°05.445'N / 88°34.229'W
Depth 56', Min Depth 47', 12430.3/47054.9/29616.7

080423b NCBC Culverts B, 478F2
Position: 30°04.881'N / 88°33.948'W
Depth 58', Min Depth 52', 12433.2/47052.8/29617.3

080425a Missile Sinkers, 479F1
Position: 30°03.728'N / 88°36.463'W

80425b Buoys, 480F1
Position: 30°03.354'N / 88°36.798'W

080430a Bacaran Culverts A, 481F13
Position: 30°03.502'N / 88°32.133'W
Depth 66', Min Depth 58', 12451.8/47037.1/29629.9

080430b CCA Culverts, 482F13
Position: 30°02.757'N / 88°31.851'W
Depth 71', Min Depth 60', 12454.6/47034.2/29619.4

080505a Bacaran Culverts B, 483F3
Position: 30°09.952'N / 88°44.963'W
Depth 43', Min Depth 38', 12320.3/47061.6/29517.0

080505a MPCo Culverts, 484F3
Position: 30°09.922'N / 88°44.956'W
Depth 43', Min Depth 38', 12320.5/47061.5/29516.4































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Author: Mark Primo Miller, Gautier, MS 39553