Page 86 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2020

SPORTS & OUTDOORS
O•F•F•S•H•O•R•E
April Bethea ghts a big one during a shing trip to the Gulf of Mexico.
FISHING
More Than Red Snapper to Catch Off the Mississippi Coast
story and photos by John N. Felsher
An annual summer tradition for Magnolia State anglers, the recreational red snapper season began May 22 in
the Gulf of Mexico. Every angler can keep up to two red snapper per day, each at least 16 inches long, throughout the season.
“Mississippi now has the ability to manage its own allocation of red snapper out to 200 nautical miles,” explained Matt Hill, the Fin sh Bureau Director in the O ce of Marine Fisheries at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. “This means both state and federal waters are open during the Mississippi recreational red snapper season. As the season progresses, any changes to the season will be decided by the Commission on Marine Resources.” Red snapper and other bottom sh congregate
around hard structures like reefs, rigs and wrecks. Mississippi established many arti cial reefs in o shore, nearshore and inshore waters to build sh habitat. O shore reefs combine for about 16,000 acres of sh habitat o the coast. Some reef material came from rubble left by
hurricanes and decommissioned petroleum rigs. “Since the establishment of the Arti cial Reef Program, the state created 67 inshore reefs, 15 o shore reefs
and eight rigs-to-reef sites to enhance marine species and provide opportunities to Mississippi anglers,” Hill advised. “Around these arti cial reefs, anglers can catch red snapper and other reef sh.” Besides red snapper, these o shore reefs and other structures make habitat for other snapper, grouper and
reef sh species such as amberjack and trigger sh. Reefs also create hunting grounds for roving predators that feed upon reef dwellers.
Steven Felsher shows o a mangrove snapper.
86 | July 2020
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