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The Mississippi
Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Mississippi Gulf Fishing
Banks will be turning derelict vessels into artificial fishing reefs on
Monday and Tuesday in fish haven areas 15 miles south of Petit Bois
Island. The 200-foot barge and 150-foot metal boat will be transported
from Bayou Portage in Pass Christian.
DMRs Derelict Vessel Removal Program will
be paying for the cost of cleaning and preparing the vessels for
removal-about $29,700. The Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks will provide for
transporting the vessels and sinking them in their designated areas. Gulf
Stream Marine of Biloxi will be removing, cleaning, transporting and
sinking the vessels.
Through a joint effort with the Mississippi
Gulf Fishing Banks, the Derelict Vessel Removal Program is able to remove
these potentially navigational hazards and create additional fishing
grounds for the public and for future generations of sportsmen, said
Irvin Jackson, manager of the Derelict Vessel Removal Program.
This Program is funded
annually through the Tidelands Trust Fund Program. The Tidelands Trust
Fund consists of funds derived from the lease rentals of tidelands
and submerged lands. Revenues are collected by the Office of Secretary of
State, appropriated by the state legislature and administered by DMR.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is
dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the
State by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands
and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational,
educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with
environmental concerns and social changes.
In response to the threat of submerged marine debris in the Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama coastal zones, NOAA's Gulf of Mexico Marine
Debris Project team is developing interactive maps from hydrographic
surveys of debris left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A
collaborative effort among NOAA's Marine Debris Program, Office of
Response and Restoration and Office of Coast Survey, the team is working
with the United States Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies,
including Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, to ensure
coordination of ongoing recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. To
access scalable maps indicating debris location and abundance, please
go to http://gulfofmexico.marinedebris.noaa.gov.
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