WALKIAH BLUFF —
Approximately 14,000 lbs. of harvestable-sized blue catfish, known locally as “blue cat,” were released into the Pearl River just west of Picayune here at a bluff named for a Choctaw Indian chief, as part of a continued recovery effort by the Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality.
There is a water park with a boat ramp at the site built and managed by the Pearl River Basin Development District.
The catfish, donated by a Mississippi catfish producer, ranged in weight from five to more than 20 lbs., MDEQ officials said. The fish will be ready to spawn next summer, said Curtis Summerlin, MDWFP hatchery supervisor.
Friday’s stocking marked the fourth stocking in the Pearl River since an August, 2011, equipment malfunction at Temple-Inland Paper Mill in Bogalusa, La., led to the accidental spillage of paper-making by-product, described as a black liquor, into the river.
The spillage depleted oxygen and killed freshwater mussels and an estimated 219,000 fish. The kill stretched along 80 miles of the Pearl River, including about 40 miles bordering Mississippi.
The company has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine, $229,000 for fish stocking and $45,000 to reimburse MDEQ for response and recovery costs.
To date approximately 2,500 largemouth bass, 8,541 channel catfish and 118,950 redear sunfish (also called shellcracker or chinquapin) have been released into the lower Pearl River. Additional fish will be stocked as they become available from MDWFP fish hatcheries.
“Next year, these fish will be spawning and producing young blue catfish to help replenish the numbers in the river,” Summerlin said. “It’s our way of helping the Pearl River recover from this man-made accident.”
“The fish kill in August was devastating to the lower Pearl River, and we moved as quickly as possible with the enforcement action and settlement to restock the river and begin the process of bringing it back to a normal, healthy state,” said Trudy D. Fisher, MDEQ executive director.
Said Dr. Sam Polles, MDWFP executive director, “The recovery of the lower Pearl River, following last summer’s fish kill, is extremely important. Our agencies are working diligently to produce and stock fish needed for the river’s recovery.”
Local News
14,000 lbs. of “blue cat” released at Walkiah Bluff
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