Farmer Donates Blue Catfish to Assist in Recovery Effort in Mississippi Lower Pearl River

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) staff accompanied Mr. Charlie Hogue of Warmwater Pond Management, Inc. to the Pearl River near The Stennis Space Center where he released about 1,100 harvestable-sized blue catfish on January 29. These fish were donated by Mr. Chad Phillips of Phillips Brothers Farms in Yazoo City.

The blue catfish are part of a continuing recovery effort for the area of the Pearl River affected by a discharge of black liquor from the Temple-Inland Paper Mill in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The discharge resulted in a massive fish kill in August 2011. The kill stretched along 80 miles of the Pearl River including about 40 miles bordering Mississippi. An estimated 219,000 fish and mussels were killed according to Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and MDWFP staff.

Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), formerly known as the Mississippi Game & Fish Commission, is an agency of the government of the U.S. state ofMississippi responsible for programs protecting Mississippi fish and wildlife resources and their habitats, as well as administering all state parks; it has its headquarters in Jackson. The agency issues hunting and fishing licenses, advises on habitat protection, and sponsors public education programs. It is also responsible for enforcement of Mississippi's fish and game laws. It is separate from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which is the governing body for the state's natural salt-water resources and law enforcement thereof (i.e. Gulf of Mexico, ocean-going vessels, etc.).