Tag Archives: Mississippi DMR
Why Mississippi DMR paid $291K for a boat fishermen dream of
This is not Bill Walker’s Department of Marine Resources. The DMR just bought a 39-foot, offshore boat, but it won’t be used for the legislative fishing trips, fishing tournaments and birthday outings that Bill Walker sanctioned under his regime, Executive Director Jamie Miller told the Sun Herald. DMR intends to use the boat for collecting finfish samples offshore, most notably red snapper, Miller said when the Sun Herald interviewed him this week at the DMR’s reef staging site on the Industrial Seaway, where the boat is stored. Miller said the DMR wants hard data to prove what most offshore fishermen will already tell you: Red snapper are more plentiful than the federal government’s stingy fishing limits indicate. (Oh, and one other thing. Miller said the boat “absolutely” will be used in undercover operations to nab fishermen with illegal catches. The Contender will be marked as a DMR boat, but its 70-mph top speed means enforcers will be on top of those fishing illegally before they can dispose of their catches.) Video, Read the story here 14:32
Fishermen pack first meeting on Mississippi DMR emergency oyster program
Dozens of oyster fishermen packed the room at the Bolton Building in Biloxi on Wednesday morning for the first of two meetings on the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ emergency oyster recovery program. DMR officials made the announcement about the program Monday, just one day after the Army Corps of Engineers opened the in Louisiana. The program will put Mississippi oyster fishermen to work relocating live oysters from the west side of the Mississippi Sound to the east side and Biloxi Back Bay. Read the article here 13:45
‘Historic’ red tide could keep oyster reefs closed for months
Oyster season won’t be reopening any time soon in Mississippi. The CMR was told the required red tide testing to make sure oysters are safe for harvest, could take up to three months. “We’ve never had one at this level or this intensity. This is a historic event,” the DMR’s Joe Jewell said at this morning’s special meeting of the CMR. Jewell was talking about the red tide event which closed oyster season nearly two weeks ago. Read the article here 12:41
Shellfish Harvester Education Program – Get some training, get your oyster license – Video
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) – New federal regulations are now in place regarding the oyster industry in Mississippi and other states. Anyone involved in the industry in any capacity now has to receive specialized training in the sanitary harvesting and transporting of the delicacy. Read more here 11:24
Mississippi DMR fisheries director will retire
Dale Diaz, 51, has been director of the Office of Marine Fisheries, which has 47 employees, since February 2007. He has worked for DMR more than 26 years, starting as a marine patrol officer. He advanced to lieutenant in the patrol before he moved Marine Fisheries as a biologist in the shellfish bureau. more@sunherald 07:47
