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Mississippi marine agency adopts permanent live-bait trawling boundary in Bayou Cassatt
Summary
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources adopted a permanent change to Title 22, Part 6, adding a latitude-based northern limit for commercial live-bait trawling in Bayou Cassatt south of the Channel B range rear light.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources on a unanimous vote adopted a permanent change to Title 22 Part 6 to allow live-bait trawling in the southern portion of Bayou Cassatt, establishing the northern regulatory limit at latitude 30.359224, located at the Channel B range rear light.
The change, presented by Jason, Marine Fisheries staff, moves the bayou out of the closure area for licensed live-bait harvesters. "That limit is situated over Bayou Cassatt Channel B range rear light," Jason said, explaining the latitude-based line and noting it is shown on Coast Guard navigation charts and visible from the water.
The nut graf: the rule alters which portion of Bayou Cassatt is open to commercial live-bait trawling and is intended to codify historic fishing practice in the dredged, industrial portion of the channel while preserving the protected, undredged natural channel north of the line.
In the presentation staff showed an overview map and said the chosen latitude corresponds to an existing navigation aid, which regulators expect will make on-the-water compliance easier. Jason told commissioners the line was selected after consulting captains who regularly trawled in the area and that it roughly follows the northern edge of historically dredged and channelized water.
Commissioners discussed how the line will be identified in practice. Jason said the regulation includes the latitude so enforcement and users can locate the boundary even if local features shift: the latitude is meant to function as an east–west demarcation "in case the light's not there," he said. Staff also said the department will distribute the new regulation to all live-bait license holders and include it in the materials provided during annual inspections.
The motion to adopt the recommended change to Title 22 carried after a call for a vote. Commissioners noted the change applies only to holders of live-bait commercial licenses; recreational or personal cast-netting for personal use remains allowed north or south of the line, subject to existing laws.
Less-critical details: staff said the change will be implemented within about 60 days and that the regulation text names the latitude and the Channel B range rear light as the northern limit. The department plans to notify the entire fleet, not only the small group that has historically used that area.
