Summary of Trips

During the fiscal month of August, one partial day and two full day trips were made to verify more module numbers, tag red snapper, and make five separate dives in which three modules, one rubble pile and a barge were videod and observed.

During the past month 224 fish were tagged and released. Six previously tagged fish were reported recaptured.

Trip Results--Modules 11, 33, 43, Rubble 4, Rubble Barge

On August 18, 1990 a video was taken of the Rubble Barge in FH-1 and Module 11 in FH-2. Actually modules 7, 8, and 11 are very close together in FH-2 and the module visited could be any of the three (The map numbers are 50, 51, 52). The module was open on the top with one end busted and collapsed inward. This gave it some good characteristics for bait fish which were plentiful. Several snapper, a few grouper, and two small cobia were sighted.

The Rubble Barge was visited in an attempt to recapture tagged red snapper since many had been previously tagged on this site. A dive was made while on location. The Rubble Barge and Module 11 fish observations are summarized in Tables One and Two.

Estimated Fish Sightings-Rubble Barge

August 18, 1990

Fish Type Size/Weight Count

Red Snapper.......... <2 lbs...120-150

Red Snapper.......... 3-6 lbs... 15-20

Grouper.............. 2-4 lbs... 5-10

Trigger Fish......... <1 lbs... 50-75

Spadefish............ <1 lbs... 50-75

Table One

Estimated Fish Sightings - Module 11

August 18, 1990

Fish Type Size/Weight Count

Red Snapper.......... <2 lbs... 80-120

Grouper.............. 1-3 lbs... 4-6

Cobia................10-15lbs... 2

Trigger Fish......... <1 lbs... 20-30

Sheepshead........... 1-2 lbs... 8-15

Mangrove Snapper..... 1-2 lbs... 5-10

Bait fish............ <1 lbs...400-600

Table Two

On September 8, 1990 a trip was made to verify the remaining module numbers on the Horn Island Barge Site (FH-1). Snapper were also tagged and a dive was made on Rubble #4. Efforts were not quite completed so a trip was made the following day to finish up on FH-1 and start verifying numbers on FH-2. A dive was made on Module 43 (Map #16) and found it to be covered with juvenile snapper. After moving to FH-2 a dive was made on Module 33 finding it too covered with juvenile snapper. Because of the snapper abundance, efforts were made to capture, tag, and release as many as possible.

Rubble 4 Observations

The same Scamp that was noted last month was seen on Rubble 4 again. Also a Cusk Eel, also known as a Hake, was caught on Rubble 4. Both of these fish are customarily deep water species. Fewer Triggers were noted this month. Bait fish were noted to be in great abundance. On the tropical side, two blue angels, two butterflies, and several cocoa damsels were seen. The fish sightings for Rubble 4 are summarized below in Table Three.

Estimated Fish Sightings on Rubble #4

September 8, 1990

Fish Type Size/Weight Count

Red Snapper.......... <2 lbs...200-250

Red Snapper.......... 3-6 lbs... 25-30

Black Snapper........ <2 lbs... 5-10

Grouper.............. 1-4 lbs....12-15

Scamp................ 4-5 lbs.... 1

Trigger Fish......... <1 lbs... 40-50

Sheepshead........... 1-3 lbs....10-15

Spadefish............ <1 lbs... 40-60

Blue Angel........... 1-2 lbs... 2

Butterflies.......... 3-5"...... 2

Bait fish............ <1 lbs... >5000

Table Three

Module 43 Observations

This module is listed as number 16 on the FH-1 orientation map. It is located within a string of modules in the Northeast corner that are perhaps 100-150 feet apart. This spacing of modules seems to be conducive to attracting snapper. Literally thousands of juvenile snapper were in the area. They appear to enjoy swimming from, to, and between the structures. In fact schools were charted and seen in between where there was no structure. An interesting observation was that this module has openings on all four sides. The snapper would swim in and out without any hesitation. This is in contradiction to previous observations where modules that had tops on them and the railroad box cars showed very few fish inside. Because of openings on every end there is good light and water ventilation. Also perhaps the fish do not fear being cornered. It was noted that few bait fish were present probably due to the lack of small broken pieces. Very few "keeper size" snapper were seen but that should change as the juveniles grow. The fish observations are summarized below in Table Four.

Estimated Fish Sightings on Module 43

September 9, 1990

Fish Type Size/Weight Count

Red Snapper.......... <2 lbs...600-800

Trigger Fish......... <1 lbs... 10-15

Sheepshead........... 1-2 lbs.... 8-12

Spadefish............ <1 lbs... 5-10

Bait fish............ <1 lbs... 30-50

Table Four

Modules 33,34 Observations

These broken up modules are located at the southwest end of FH-2 and are listed as number 55 on the FH-2 orientation map. Again there were literally thousands of snapper sighted. In addition there were two flounder seen and one nice 10-12 pound warsaw grouper that had a tag in him! Hopefully the tag information will be reported if he is ever captured. There were alot of bait fish here probably due to the broken up nature of the material. Some excellent video was taken here showing the vast multitude of juvenile snapper. The fish sightings are summarized below in Table Five.

Estimated Fish Sightings on Mods 33,34

September 9, 1990

Fish Type Size/Weight Count

Red Snapper.......... <2 lbs...700-900

Trigger Fish......... <1 lbs... 30-40

Grouper..............10-12lbs.... 1

Flounder............. 3-4 lbs... 2

Bait fish............ <1 lbs...500-700

Table Five

Verified Module Locations

Most of the targets on the North Half of FH-1 were successfully located (Above Barge "A"). Where there was more than one target close together only one find was made to save time. The coordinates are shown on the next page in Table Six. The original spotting coordinates seem to be adequate to locate the material, but these newer coordinates should save some time. This completes the verification of targets on FH-1 with the exception of some modules that are close to each other and some of the small pieces of culverts. The ID numbers correspond to the map numbers from the orientation maps that were released last year.

ID Material S1 S2 S3

3 Module 48 12407.0-.1 47038.5-.4 29577.0

4 Module 47 12407.2-.3 47038.3-.4 29577.1-.0

6 Module 46 12407.2-.1 47038.2-.3 29576.8-.9

7 Module 45 12407.2 47038.1-.2 29576.8-.7

10 Module 59 12407.1 47038.1-.0 29576.6

12 Module 44 12407.0 47038.0-.1 29576.5

15 Module 42 12407.1 47037.8-.7 29576.3

16 Module 43 12407.2-.0 47037.8-.9 29576.5-.3

18 Module 41 12407.1-.0 47037.7 29576.2-.3

21 Culvert Did not find but did mark small fish.

9 Modules 60,61 12405.4-.5 47038.1 29575.0-.1

11,13 Modules 49,50 12404.6-.7 47037.8-.7 29573.9-.8

14 53,54 pieces 12404.4-.5 47037.7 29573.7-.6

17 53,54 pieces 12404.4-.5 47037.6-.5 29573.6

19,20 Modules 51,52 12403.8-.9 47037.5 29572.9-.8

22 53,54 Busted 12404.0 47037.4 29572.9-.8

23 Module 55 12405.0 47037.3-.2 29573.7

50-52 Mods 7,8,11 12426.2-.3 47043.3-.2 29601.0-.1

55 Modules 33,34 12423.8-.9 47043.4-.3 29598.8

Table Six

Verified Coordinates of New Module Targets

Fish Tagging Update

Last month 224 new fish were tagged and released while six tagged Red Snapper were recaptured. Four tags were placed by Ace Necaise while the remaining 220 tags were placed by Mark and Pam Miller. Paul Kensler reported one tag recapture, four by Mark and Pam Miller, and one by Danny Slade, however, Danny did not make a measurement of his fish and estimated it at 12".

Of interest are two relatively large snapper that measured 18 and 16.3 inches. Information from Fish Trackers in Texas is pending arrival. Also a very small snapper was tagged at 5" on the Rubble Barge and grew to 10.3" at the same location. The known information is shown below in Table seven.

Tagged Fish Recaptures

(for past month of August)

Tag Number Date-1 Date-2 Size-1 Size-2 Growth Rate/Mo.

0078PRM 6/10/90 8/18/90 10.50" 12.50" 2.00" 0.87"

0081PRM 6/10/90 9/08/90 11.00" 12"Est. 1.00" 0.33"

0483 7/06/90 8/27/90 11.90" 13.60" 1.70" 0.98"

49477 1/14/90 8/27/90 5.00" 10.30" 5.30" 0.71"

Table Seven

* Denotes both release and capture measurements made by same person and may indicate increased accuracy.

# The longer period of time lapse (243 days= 8.1 Months) may indicate a more accurate growth rate of about 0.42 inch per month.