Old fire department equipment being sunk to create artificial reef off Mississippi Gulf Coast

JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — Chevron partnered with the Forts Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Jackson County Office of Emergency Services, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks to sink unused industrial equipment into the Gulf to create an artificial reef aimed at growing fish populations and improving recreational fishing along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The project involves a 31-ton propane tank and a steel tower previously used for firefighter training at the Forts Lakes Fire Department.

The structures were deployed about 13 miles south of Petit Bois Island.

Partners and funding

Chevron contributed $30,000 to help safely transport and deploy the reef materials offshore. It is the second reef project the company has supported alongside Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

“This is a really good showcase of how partnership and collaboration could result in something that’s going to be a long-lasting benefit for the marine habitat,” Chevron public affairs advisor Katarina Scott said.

Benefits for anglers and marine life

Terry Jackson, Jackson County operations coordinator, said the project builds on an existing reef program.

“It’s gonna enhance the opportunities, number one, but you know, it just continues to build the reef program that is so important to maintain those fish so that everybody on the Coast can do it,” Jackson said.

Ralph Humphrey, president of Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, said the reef will benefit both commercial and recreational fishers.

“Charter captains can make a living out of it, both federal and state captains, and just a wealth of opportunity for the recreational anglers,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey noted the contrast with earlier conditions along the Coast.

“There were no artificial reefs back then, and there were no reefs at all, just a mud bottom. It’s good for shrimp, but not so good for reef fishing,” he said.

Long-term outlook

Scott said the structures are built to last.

“Those steel structures down there, they’re not going anywhere. That’s going to be a place where fish can continue to grow, thrive and reproduce, and so it’s going to have benefits long probably past work year,” Scott said.

“This reef that we’ve deployed is going to have lasting benefits for years to come; it’s just a really great thing, I think, for the fishing community here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Scott said.

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