GULFPORT, MS — Fish restoration efforts are continuing in the Pascagoula River on October 16, thanks to a partnership between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWF&P), Mississippi State University, the Foundation for Ms Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, coastal anglers, and Mississippi Power. The release, being launched by Jackson County anglers and employees from Mississippi Power’s Plant Daniel at the Moss Point City Docks at 7 a.m., is part of an ongoing effort to restore the vibrant freshwater fishery lost during Hurricane Katrina. The project was made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Power Foundation. 
 
“Once the need was identified by the state department we knew we had to do something to help jumpstart the recovery of this important river system,” said Johnny Atherton, vice president External Affairs, Mississippi Power. “It is a privilege for us to partner with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to provide whatever assistance we can to restore the Pascagoula River to its pre-storm grandeur.”
 
The fish kill that resulted from Hurricane Katrina was unprecedented.  MDWF&P and Mississippi State University estimated 60.8 million fish (bream, catfish, crappie, sturgeon and bass) died in the Pascagoula River as a result of the saltwater intrusion and oxygen depletion. 
 
The target for the program was 10,000 advanced fingerling per year.  In its inaugural year in 2007, 15,993 largemouth bass were released, followed by 15,025 in 2008.
 
“This cooperative effort between our agency, Mississippi Power, MSU and volunteer anglers has enhanced this fishery. The Pascagoula River is showing signs of recovery according to our sample,” said Ron Garavelli, bureau director, MDWF&P.

According to fisheries officials, the fish have been marked with color-coded t-bar anchor tags so movement and survival can be monitored.  The Pascagoula River from Merrill to I-10 was divided into four reaches and will be sampled with electro-fishing gear to evaluate the contribution of the tagged fish to the river population.

Mississippi Power, headquartered in Gulfport, MS, provides retail and wholesale electric service to approximately 200,000 customers in 23 counties from the Gulf Coast to Meridian. The company owns or has significant ownership interests in six generating facilities with net dependable generating capacity of 3,166 megawatts. Electricity is sent across 8,371 miles of transmission and distribution lines to retail customers principally in Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Pascagoula, Columbia, Laurel, Waveland, Lucedale and Picayune. 

Large wholesale customers include six electric cooperatives -- Coast EPA, Singing River EPA, Southern Pine EPA, Dixie EPA, Pearl River EPA and East Mississippi EPA -- the City of Collins and South Mississippi Electric Power Association. Large retail customers include the following: the region’s United States military installations -- Keesler Air Force Base and Naval Construction Battalion Center (Seabee Base); the University of Southern Mississippi; NASA Stennis Space Center; oil and gas infrastructure, including a refinery; multiple foundries and shipbuilders; the Mississippi National Guard’s Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center near Hattiesburg and the Mississippi Air National Guard in Meridian.

Mississippi Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO), employs 1,300 Mississippi residents.  In 2008, Mississippi Power paid $115 million in federal, state and local taxes.  Southern Company stock is held by nearly 3,000 Mississippi residents.

 
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