Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, Inc.

Activity Report for the Period

April 13 thru May11, 2017

Activity Summary

During this period there were three dive trips conducted to deploy 11 of the 12 USM Water Quality Recorders in the fish havens. On April 21, a trip was made to deploy USM Recorders in FH-2, FH-1, FH-6, FH-12, and FH-3. On May 2, a trip was made to deploy USM Recorders in FH-8, Cat Island, FH-4, FH-14, and FH-10. On May 7, a trip was made to deploy a USM Recorder in FH-13.

Details

On April 21, 2017Recorders were deployed in FH-2, FH-1, FH-6, FH-12, and FH-3. Conditions were excellent with good visibility in FH-2. We took advantage to feed the local fish and then on to make some subsequent dives on the Reef Balls and the Captain Kevin, the latter of which was the best. We also took some video of Red Snapper chummed up to the surface which shows how there is little shortage of these fish.

All of the reefs in FH-2 had large populations of Sheepshead. The St. Elmo showed some Red Snapper, Spadefish, Tomtates, Mangrove Snapper, Gag Grouper, Triggerfish, and Soapfish. The Reef Balls had a healthy population of Red Snapper and Tomtates.

Observations on the Captain Kevin Shrimp Boat in FH-2 showed some descent Red Snapper, Sheepshead, Cigar Minnows, Tomtates, Sea Cucumbers, Spotfin Butterflies, Cocoa Damsels, and even a Barracuda and a juvenile Amberjack. While one of the heavier pressured reefs, it is still performing well and provides a haven for marine life that would not be there if not for the Misssissippi Gulf Fishing Banks (MGFB) and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR). The water depth is about 60 feet with a clearance of about 35 feet.

On May 2, 2017 Recorders were deployed in FH-8, Cat Island, FH-4, FH-14, FH-10. Conditions were terrible because of recent high winds and rain. Visibility was so bad that the air gauge could not even be read. However, the job was completed. The Recorder in FH-4 was attached to the Gulf States Barge instead of the Ship Island Barge because of the problems we had last year finding the recorder on that busted up vessel. The plan was to place it on the Stern Winch, but conditions were so bad it was placed on a starboard stern cleat.

On May 7, 2017, another trip was made to deploy in FH-13 and FH-7. Again conditions were very bad. It took 3 dives on FH-13 to get the job done. When we got to FH-7, the conditions were still bad with high currents extending down deep into the water column and very muddy water. After the marker buoy would not hold after 2 attempts the effort was aborted deeming it unsafe.

http://mgfb.org/                                                          Email Author: MarkPrimo@primofish.com