Public Invited to 2015 Mississippi Marine Fisheries Workshop Nov. 23 at GCRL

Mississippi Gulf Coast anglers young and old are invited to the 2015 Mississippi Marine Fisheries Workshop on Monday, Nov. 23, at 6 p.m. in the Caylor Auditorium at The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) in Ocean Springs.

The free event offers an opportunity for local anglers and marine science enthusiasts to obtain updates on current fisheries research conducted in Mississippi coastal waters and to engage with scientists and resource managers. An open forum discussion will follow the workshop.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sport Fish Restoration Program sponsor the program, which began in the mid-1990s to update to the public on the status of Mississippi's spotted seatrout (speckled trout) population. It has since expanded into a more comprehensive review of fisheries research in Mississippi. 

Read Hendon, interim associate director for GCRL and director of its Center for Fisheries Research and Development, explained, “One of the main benefits of the workshop is the open forum discussion, which provides for an exchange between the public and fisheries scientists and managers on specific questions and concerns about Mississippi's coastal and marine fisheries.”

Topics and speakers include:

• Mississippi Spotted Seatrout Fishery and Stock Assessment Panel Overview, David Dippold, USM GCRL Department of Coastal Sciences
• Satellite Telemetry of Juvenile Bull Sharks in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Jeremy Higgs, USM GCRL Center for Fisheries Research and Development
• Recent Research on Floating Sargassum Habitats in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Dr. Frank Hernandez, USM GCRL Department of Coastal Sciences
• Red Snapper Life History and Fishery Management in Mississippi, Dr. Paul Mickle, MDMR Finfish Bureau
• The Life History of Southern Flounder in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico, Morgan Corey, USM GCRL Department of Coastal Sciences

Door prizes will be available and refreshments will be provided for attendees.

Directions to the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory can be found at www.usm.edu/gcrl/about_us/location.php.

For more information, contact Jill Hendon at 228.872.4242 or jill.hendonFREEMississippi.