For millennia, the Mississippi River deposited uncountable volumes of silt into the Gulf of Mexico, turning the bottom into a giant mudflat.
That silty flow, largely devoid of life, also created the beaches and barrier islands along the Mississippi coast. Except for oysters, few natural hard spots existed in Mississippi waters.
Hard spots create entire marine ecosystems from the smallest organisms to huge fish. Algae grows on hard surfaces. That provides food for small creatures. Reefs give cover to crabs, shrimp, baitfish, and other animals. Predators come to reefs to hunt prey.
“Each reef is a fish oasis,” explains Sonny Schindler of Shore Thing Fishing Charters in Bay St. Louis. “I wish the state would line the entire coast with artificial reefs because they are such good places to fish.”
The Mississippi Artificial Reef Program officially began in 1999, but the state placed a few old automobile bodies near the barrier islands as far back as the 1960s. Nobody likes to see a hurricane approaching, but good things can spring from disaster. The 21st century hurricanes, particularly Katrina in 2005, provided the state with tons of debris. Mississippi recycled much of it into artificial reefs for fish habitat, bringing life from destruction.
“We have captured some material after hurricanes and deployed that material to create several artificial reefs,” Travis Williams, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Artificial Reef director, said. “When we have a natural disaster, we try to make something positive out of it.”
Katrina demolished the Highway 90 bridge that spanned the pass connecting Back Bay, also called Biloxi Bay, to Mississippi Sound. Now, entire concrete spans from that old bridge form Katrina Key just outside the pass. Also called Katrina Reef, the structure holds speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead, and other fish.
We catch fish off Katrina Reef all year long, but the species vary according to the season. The reefs give cover to baitfish. Once baitfish get around the reefs, everything else follows
“We catch fish off Katrina Reef all year long, but the species vary according to the season,” says Robert Brodie of Team Brodie Charters. “The reefs give cover to baitfish. Once baitfish get around the reefs, everything else follows.”
Katrina also destroyed the Hancock County Jail in the town of Bay St. Louis. Now, rubble from that correctional facility became Jailhouse Key near Waveland. Some of that rubble also became Pass Christian Key. Storms also provided materials for many other structures.
Besides storm damage, Mississippi also obtains various materials from road repairs, demolished buildings, and other renovation or construction projects. These “secondary use materials” include things like old concrete culverts that make outstanding fish habitat. Most people just want to get rid of the old material and would rather donate it to the state to put it to good use than pay to haul it off to a landfill.
Today, numerous artificial reefs ranging from a few limestone blocks to entire sunken ships dot the Mississippi coast and offshore waters. Many exist where anglers in small boats, even kayaks, can reach them. In some places, wading anglers fishing the coastal beaches can fish the reefs.
