Tag Archives: MISSISSIPPI SOUND
More than $30 million & 300 jobs lost during 2019 spillway opening, MSU study finds
The 2019 opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway cost the Mississippi Coast hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars, a scenario likely to repeat itself and endanger a seafood industry that has been vital to the economy and culture, a study from Mississippi State University concludes. The seafood industry also has declined because of competition from imports, the study noted. Interviews showed many fishermen, including those who specialize in shrimp and oysters, are selling their boats and leaving an industry that supported their families for generations. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:14
2024 Shrimp Season kicks off on the Mississippi Sound
Quality, not quantity. That’s the theme for day one of the 2024 Shrimp Season on the Mississippi Sound. As the 2024 season kicked off at 6 a.m. this morning, a total of 46 boats made their way out on the water. While there weren’t many boats, those who did drop their nets found some decent-sized shrimp to sell back at the docks. “We saw about 46 boats from the preliminary estimates,” Mississippi DMR Shrimp & Crab Bureau Director Jason Saucier said. “We did see the largest group of boats inside of Horn Island.” Video ,more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:49
In Depth: Mississippi Has Invested Millions of Dollars to Save Its Oysters. They’re Disappearing Anyway.
By 2015, it was clear that Mississippi oysters were in crisis. Then-Gov. Phil Bryant convened an oyster council to come up with solutions. “This is the soybean of the sea,” Bryant said at a community gathering in 2015 at which he unveiled the council’s report. “We’re going to make sure everyone enjoys it.” The council set a goal of producing 1 million sacks of oysters a year by 2025. But almost a decade later, that goal is nowhere in sight: In a region that helped pioneer the oyster industry, only 457 sacks were harvested in 2022, none of them from the public reefs that the state had worked to restore. “They’re just wasting money,” said Keath Ladner, a former oyster fisherman whose family was in the seafood business for three generations. “And the fishermen know this.” Video, Photos, >click to read< 09:37
Omega Protein boat rescues six from capsized boat in Mississippi Sound
A group of boaters who were stranded in the Mississippi Sound are thankful to be alive. Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, a crew of fishermen with Omega Protein rescued six people, including two children, from a small boat that had capsized. Capt. Joel Deihl said he got a distress call from the Coast Guard asking for help. After his two fishing boats located the capsized vessel, they pulled two people from the water and another four from the overturned boat. Video, >click to read< 10:16
Opening of 2021 Mississippi Sound shrimp season could be delayed
Coast shrimpers will have to be a little more patient before they can drop their nets in the Mississippi Sound this summer. Rainy weather during the last two months has caused salinity levels and lower water temperatures in our local waters, meaning it could push the start of the 2021 shrimp season back a few weeks. “With brown shrimp, two of the factors that influence growth are water temperature and salinity,,, “Once these rains stop – if they stop and the salinity starts to rise,,, video, >click to read< 19:17
Water conditions causing ‘catastrophic’ season for in-shore and near-shore shrimpers
The Bonnet Carre Spillway has been open for 100 days as of Friday and the influx of freshwater still pouring into the Mississippi Sound is taking a major toll on coast fishermen. The shrimp season opened two weeks ago but, by most accounts, the freshwater in the Mississippi Sound is making it a season to forget for those who make their living on the water. Shrimpers are having to adjust where they drop their nets, said David Veal director of American Shrimp Processors Association. Video, >click to read< 14:56
Mississippi’s shrimp season will open Thursday. It doesn’t look good.
Mississippi’s shrimp season will open this Thursday, June 20 at 6am, despite samples showing smaller shrimp than typical for opening day. That’s the decision from Tuesday’s Commission on Marine Resources meeting. It’s not a cause for celebration though. It’s more of a sign of desperation. Usually, the legal count for shrimp must be 68 shrimp per pound before the season is opened. Right now, samples are showing 112,,, Experts also report that brown shrimp reproduction is down 90%. “I don’t think it really matters. I think the situation now is only getting worse, so why don’t we take the best we can? The only chance we have now is to allow our shrimpers to have some chance to have a life this year,” said Joe Spraggins, the director of the Department of Marine Resources. >click to read<19:36
The power to open Bonnet Carré spillway rests 200 miles from ‘struggling’ Gulf Coast
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens the Bonnet Carré to prevent Mississippi River flooding in New Orleans, but Coast residents on less populated shores of South Mississippi and Louisiana feel the fallout. The fresh, polluted water floods Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound. For the first time in history, the spillway has opened two years in a row — 2018 and 2019 — and two times in one year — 2019. Dolphins and oysters are dying. Shrimp are disappearing. Fish are covered in lesions. And the oxygen-starved Dead Zone, documented annually in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected this summer to be the size of Massachusetts, which is close to the 2017 record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says. Video, photo’s >click to read<10:23
Freshwater in the Mississippi Sound Causing Concern for Shrimp Season
The Department of Marine Resources typically opens our state’s shrimp season during the first week of June every year. What’s different this season? There’s freshwater flushing out into the Mississippi Sound because of the twice-opened Bonnet Carre Spillway to alleviate flooding. Now, local fishermen are concerned over how the reduced salinity will impact Mississippi’s shrimp harvest. >click to read<10:39
Shrimp season comes with fears of uncertainty – Most of the people we spoke with were worried that the freshwater incursion from the Bonnet Carré Spillway would hurt the Mississippi shrimp season. >Video, click to read<
Mississippi Shrimp season gets underway with more than 250 boats lowering nets
Over 250 shrimp boats scoured the Mississippi Sound early Wednesday morning as the 2018 shrimp season officially got underway. Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officials conducted an aerial survey and found 254 boats lowering their nets in search of their first catch of the season. “We talked to the fishermen and early reports show moderate-to-low numbers of 40-50 count brown shrimp,” >click to read<14:30
Shrimp season opens in Mississippi Sound
The 2017 brown shrimp season opened 6 a.m. Wednesday and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officials are hoping the season will be bountiful for recreational and commercial shrimpers in South Mississippi. DMR public affairs director Melissa Scallan said the season opened with almost 700 permits issued. Scallan said there were about 250 boats in the water on Wednesday and most were between Gulfport and Biloxi. Video, click here to read the story Some fishermen, however, were disappointed by their early catches. Shrimper Sam Huynh said, “Little shrimp and a lot of trash.” Video, click here to read the story 09:30
Bill would extend shrimping season in portion of Mississippi Sound
A bill that would open part of the Mississippi Sound a month earlier than the traditional June start of shrimping season is headed to Gov. Phil Bryant. Shrimp season in the Sound south of the Intracoastal Waterway, which essentially divides the Sound, usually closes April 30. North of the Intracoastal Waterway, the season closes Dec. 31. If Bryant signs SB 2683, which was authored by Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi, the season in the part of the southern Sound that is east of the Gulfport ship channel could remain open year-round. Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Jamie Miller said the measure is aimed at helping the smaller shrimp boats that make up the majority of the Mississippi fleet. Those boats can’t go out as far as the larger, steel-hulled boats that can fish the deeper waters of the open Gulf. “It’s just another opportunity for those shrimpers who don’t have large boats,” he said. continue reading the story here 21:53
Mississippi Sound – Day two of oyster relay moves more smoothly
Tuesday marks day two of the oyster relay program organized by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Oyster fishermen are being paid to relocate thousands of oysters away from the harmful impact of freshwater intrusion caused by the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Near the mouth of Biloxi Back Bay, heavy equipment and high pressure water hoses helped offload a barge full of oysters onto an existing reef Tuesday morning. They are among the oysters relayed from the eastern portion of the Mississippi Sound. Read the article here 11:01
Fishermen hope to rescue oysters, as well as their livelihood
Coast fishermen are preparing to make much-needed money in the face of disaster. Beginning at sunrise Monday, fisherman will begin to move oysters to safety away from surging fresh water into the Mississippi Sound. But, it won’t be easy, and the money likely won’t be enough to make up for a disastrous six-year struggle.The Oyster Recovery Program is allowing fishermen to move oysters from the St. Joe’s Reef south of Waveland out of harm’s way. Fresh water from the recently opened Bonnet Carre spillway is threatening their habitat. Video, Read the article here 09:34
Shrimp season looking good on opening day in Mississippi Sound
As the sun rose over the Mississippi Sound, hundreds of boats, big and small, were ready to drop the nets. A short time later, elation set in. John Guidry talked about his first drag. “45 minutes, and probably one of the best drags I’ve ever did in my life. Probably a good 50 pounds,” Guidry exclaimed. Read more here 17:41