Summary of Trips

Two trips were made during the fiscal month of September, 1993. On September 25, visits were made to Rubble #7/Module #33, the Bed Frames, and the Drummond Barge ACBL2604, all at the Bill Walker Site FH-2. On October 3, a trip was made to search for the Chopper Bodies as well as visits to the Northwest Barge OR3808, and the newly created Rubble #8 in the Bill Walker Site FH-2. Routine video and observations were conducted.

FH-2 Rubble #7, the Bed Frames, and Barge ACBL2604

Rubble #7 was created on July 7, 1992 and consists of concrete donated by Mississippi Power Company, Scrap Metal from Colle Towing, Six Bundles of Bed Frames from Keesler AFB, and rubble from the old King Williams Hotel in Pascagoula. This material was deposited in a fairly wide drift pattern near an existing concrete module (#33) at LORAN Coordinates 12432.3-.9, 47043.7-.9, 29607.5-8.0. Originally 367 Bed Frames were obtained from Keesler AFB and bundled into 24 separate bundles. The first 18 bundles were deposited as a separate reef on March 4, 1992 along a wide drift area at LORAN Coordinates 12430.2-32.4, 47044.2-.4 29606.1-7.9. Barge ACBL2604 is also referred to as the Drummond Barge because Drummond Marine was contracted to raise the sunk barge from the Pascagoula river and re-sink it as a fishing reef at LORAN Coordinates 12435.4, 47044.6, 29611.4 on October 13, 1992.

Since Rubble #7 was deposited around an existing reef it was predicted that some larger snapper would be observed in the area. The game fish sightings are summarized on the next page in Table One and confirm the prediction. In addition, there was an especially high concentration of triggerfish (particularly juveniles) on the reef, interesting since several Triggers were observed nesting on the reefs this Summer. In addition to the game fish, there were numerous bait fish sightings, particularly around the Bed Frames. There were numerous Grunts, Tom Tates, and Blue Runners (Hard Tails) around the Bed Frames as well (75-100 Count of each). While the fish counts are low on the Frames it should be noted that only one bundle of Frames was observed, and there are a total of 18 bundles scattered in this area. The bundles have broken apart from their bands but the individual Frames are staying within a 15-20 foot diameter area. Although the bands have deteriorated, the Frames themselves are holding ground well with marine growth and fouling taking over. They provide excellent habitat for very small juveniles and baitfish. With six of the bundles scattered on Rubble #7, they are apparently providing some good food sources for the nice game fish observed there.

The Drummond Barge was observed shortly after its sinking revealing that much of it had fallen apart. The visibility at that time was quite poor. All dives conducted this past month yielded favorable visibility with 20-30 feet at the bottom and 40-50 feet in the mid-water. The gunwales are either leaning or flat on the bottom. The stern is open, but the bow remains intact. The bow's cutwater is providing a nice overhang with a fairly large washout observed on the port side. It was interesting to observe most of the grouper on top of the barge rather than under it. It was also obvious that they favored the bow area as did many of the fish. A large stingray (5-6 feet across) was observed near the stern, and a healthy school of cigar minnows were seen near the bow. The game fish sightings are summarized below in Table One.

It was disappointing to observe a shrimp net completely covering Module #33 at the Rubble #7 site. The module has only one end wall standing with the net completely engulfing the entire module. A few fish did not escape as was evident by their remaining carcasses. Much of the net was cut loose from the module, but time limits did not allow it to be completely freed.

An interesting feeding observation was made during this dive. A bag of cigar minnows was brought down completely enclosed in a zip lock plastic bag. When placed in the open, only the Triggers would attack aggressively until some of the bait leaked into the water, at which time the snapper would happily get involved. This may indicate the Triggers rely heavily on eyesight rather than smell when feeding. The snapper are the opposite, using their sense of smell predominately. This theory is also enforced by the fact that few if any Triggers are caught at nighttime, whereas snapper are easily caught at night.

FH-2 Choppers, Barge OR3808, Rubble #8

On October 3, a trip was made to FH-2 to locate the two Helicopter Bodies deposited on July 7, 1992 and inspect them for deterioration. The Choppers were originally deposited along with Rubble #7. One Chopper was deposited at LORAN Coordinates 12432.6, 47043.8, 29607.8-7. The other location was 12432.4-3, 47043.8-7, 29607.5. Locating specific targets in Rubble #7 is difficult because of the scattered nature of the material. A search failed to locate the structures. The fore mentioned Module that was wrapped up with a shrimp net is near the location offering further speculation of their fate, however, because of the scattered nature of the material it would be prudent to conduct a more exhaustive search in the future perhaps utilizing several divers. The structures were visited the day they sunk and appeared to be stable at that time.

While searching for the Choppers, a concrete slab was encountered flat on the bottom that had raised 4 inch ribs spaced about 3 feet apart. It appears these ribs may contribute to keeping silt from collecting on the flat surface as is observed on flat slabs. Often flat slabs get a layer of silt over them making them blend into the bottom and preventing marine growth from catching hold. This slab had noticeably more barnacles and even three separate patches of finger coral thriving on it (two yellow and one purple). This observation suggests favoritism in selecting irregular or grooved slabs rather than flat slick surfaces for fishing reefs.

The Northwest Barge is OR3808 (Ohio River) and was sunk at 12425.5, 47044.3, 29601.4 on September 2, 1992. Previous observations revealed this barge to become a quick producer. Tagging recaptures showed fish were apparently drawn in from nearby smaller structures. Observations on this day revealed a healthy but smaller population when compared to a previous visit. Increased fishing pressure on this structure is probably responsible, but there is still a good quantity of game fish. The blow holes at the stern have deteriorated further allowing divers and fish to swim freely through the bulkheads. Barnacle growth thrives significantly better on the top of the gunwales. In addition to the usual observations, large schools of small Hard Tails and Blue Fish were observed.

Rubble #8 was created on May 5, 1993 and consists of concrete rubble from the old Sears Town shopping center in Pascagoula and from Mississippi Power Company, Plant Daniel. It is in 55 feet of water with a least depth reading of 37 feet due to the 8' X 20' culvert which landed vertically. The Loran position is 12433.2, 47044.5.

This reef has been observed heavily since it was developed to record the progressive development of the reef. It went from being completely void of marine life three days after its formation, to rivaling nearby reefs in Snapper populations by three months of age. It only seemed to lack those larger 4-10 pound fish seen on neighboring reefs. This observation is still true. For unknown reasons, It was noticeable that the snapper fed more aggressively on this reef when compared to the earlier dives. There are plenty of small bait fish to feed on, so it may be attributed to the lack of bigger snapper on the reef resulting in their higher dominance of the area. The large vertical leaning tower had plenty of fish around it and particularly near the top along with a school of cigar minnows. No life was found inside the culvert except for small barnacles, but the snapper had no problem following the diver down inside the structure. In addition to the typical observations, one 3 foot across sting ray was sighted as was a healthy population of pin fish and Tom Tates. The ten pound warsaw grouper seen on the two previous visits was not seen on this dive.