Mississippi DWFP Continues Fish Stocking Efforts on Deer Creek

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks hatchery personnel stocked 30,000 bluegill sunfish fingerlings in Deer Creek at Leland, MS, on January 30, 2013. This fish stocking addresses the fish kill that occurred during the summer of 2011. “Low oxygen and water levels contributed to a major fish kill in July of 2011, Deer Creek lost thousands of fish,” says Delta fisheries biologist Nathan Aycock. “Once water levels returned to normal, we found very low numbers of sport fish in the areas where the fish kill occurred.”

Last year, MDWFP hatcheries stocked largemouth bass and crappie in Deer Creek to boost the numbers of these important fish species. The bluegill (also known as bream) stocking was a combined effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pvt. John Allen National Fish Hatchery in Tupelo, MS, which produced the fish and the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery which maintained and delivered them. They should begin spawning this spring or summer and quickly re-populate this area of Deer Creek with bluegill. “We plan to continue monitoring the fish population and do whatever is necessary to fully restore Deer Creek for the residents of our state,” says Aycock.

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.).