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BILOXI — When it comes to a successful fishing trip, two things are key.

Anglers have to be in the right place at the right time and fish have to have the proper habitat to live.

Without that habitat, however, there would be no reason to be in the right place at the right time.

Thanks to the Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Omega Protein, more help is on its way.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the fertile waters of the Mississippi Sound and northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico were damaged, including the many fishing reefs from the beachfront to the adjacent federal waters located on the south side of the barrier islands.

That meant reef fish were searching for food while baitfish were seeking protection from predators.

It was a classic survival of the fittest.

That was then, this is now

Since Katrina made landfall, some reefs have been restored along the beachfront as well as south of the barrier island.

But when it comes to solid populations of fish, whether it’s white trout, ground mullet, red snapper and grouper, the key to survival is structure.

In Mississippi, with its shallow waters, an abundance of man-made structure is needed.

That’s where the sinking of a 176-foot pogy boat designed to increase reef fishing for red snapper and grouper is hoped to help.

“It will be at Fish Haven 13,’’ Kerwin Cuevas of the DMR said. “They (Omega Protein) are working on it now. It’s a cost-share program where we are paying for half of the cleaning and Omega is paying for the other half.

“They have helped us out by donating the boat. It will be sunk in 90 feet of water about 25 miles south of Horn Island later this summer.’’

Cuevas, a fisheries biologists at the DMR, said the 176-foot pogy boat will be stripped clean before it is sunk. The boat should attract fish within the first 24 hours of reaching the bottom.

From that point, small amberjack, several snapper species, grouper, trigger fish and other reef fish will seek protection and seek food from the open Gulf of Mexico.

That, as Cuevas puts it, will benefit the fishermen.

“Even in 90 feet of water, we will have small amberjack,’’ Cuevas said. ‘‘After it is deployed, studies have shown that baitfish will be around it in the first day. Studies also show that as the population grows, it will spike then come back down to a stable population. That time frame will be in the first year. After a year, it has a good population of fish and you will have a good living reef.

“It will be a good habitat for reef fish, which we are limited with in Mississippi and the adjacent waters at this time.’’

Good for the economy, too

Granted, the reef will produce red snapper and grouper and keep fishermen from running 75 miles offshore, but Cuevas offers a new twist on the reef.

A good twist that comes during a time when the overall economy is down.

“It is very important,’’ Cuevas said. “Not only for fishing, but for the economic benefit for the state of Mississippi. In the late 1990s, we had a report that said fishing had a $78.3 million economic impact for Mississippi. That was before Katrina. Thanks to NOAA, we have been given a Katrina Grant to restore the reefs back to pre-Katrina.

“We are close to that now and we will be back at 100 percent after the five-year grant is up.’’

There are 14 artificial reefs in adjacent waters in Mississippi and 53 additional reefs in state waters.

That brings the total reefs to 67 from the front beaches to the adjacent waters on the south side of the barrier islands.

“We have a lot of fishing opportunities for the fishermen of Mississippi to utilize,’’ Cuevas said. “We would like to thank Omega Protein for donating this valuable marine habitat for our reef fishing program.’’

For more information on the reefs, visit the Gulf Fishing Banks Web site at www.mgfb.com.

Posted at www.sunherald.com on July 4, 2009

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