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Douglas J. Fruge
Coordinator
P.O. Box 825
2404 Government Street
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
(228) 875-9387
FAX: (228) 875-6604
E-mail: gulfcoastfco@fws.gov
 Fact
Sheet
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Station
Facts
- Established: 1991.
- Number of staff: one permanent
full-time, one full-time contract employee.
- Annual budget (FY 06) $200,654.
Geographic Area Covered
- Southeast Region (Region
4): Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi for Gulfwide coordination
of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) interests in coastal fisheries issues.
- Portions of Arkansas, Georgia
and Tennessee for issues in watersheds of rivers entering the Gulf of
Mexico.
- Southwest Region (Region
2): Texas for Gulfwide coordination of FWS interests in coastal fisheries
issues.
Station Goals
- Restoration of anadromous
fish, particularly Gulf striped bass, in accordance with interjurisdictional
goals.
- Recovery of Gulf sturgeon
and other species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
- Proper management and conservation
of interjurisdictional fisheries and other aquatic resources, including
their habitats, in Gulf of Mexico coastal waters and watersheds.
Services Provided To
- State and Federal partners
in restoration of Gulf striped bass.
- State and Federal partners
in recovery of Gulf sturgeon and other species listed under the Endangered
Species Act.
- Interjurisdictional fisheries
management councils, commissions and other partnership entities in cooperative
management of Gulf coastal fisheries and their habitats.
- Other FWS program offices.
Activity Highlights
- Coordination of a multi-agency
project funded under the FWS’s Fisheries Stewardship Initiative focused
on restoration of anadromous striped bass in three Gulf of Mexico rivers.
- Administrative, oversight
and technical assistance in various aspects of an interagency Gulf striped
bass restoration program.
- Chair the Gulf States Marine
Fisheries Commission’s Anadromous Fisheries Subcommittee.
- Provide fisheries technical
assistance to the FWS’s Habitat Conservation, Endangered Species and
Refuge programs.
- Represent the FWS on the
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Nutrient Task Force Watershed Coordinating Committee.
- Represent the FWS at meetings
of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.
- Represent the FWS at meetings
of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC).
- Chair the GMFMC’s Habitat
Protection Committee.
- Participate on a Lower Mississippi
River Conservation Committee team developing a FMP for the Lower Mississippi
River.
- Coordinate FWS involvement
in Gulf coastal fisheries issues in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Provide administrative support
to and supervise the FWS’s Baton Rouge Fisheries Resource Office (Louisiana).
Questions and Answers
What does your office do?
The Gulf Coast Fisheries
Coordination Office (FCO) is a relatively new type of field station in
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our office provides a coordination
point for many different FWS offices that deal with Gulf of Mexico aquatic
resource issues.
The FWS works in cooperative partnerships with many other state and
Federal agencies, fishery management councils, commissions and private
organizations in managing aquatic resources of the Gulf and its river
drainages. A single FWS point of contact helps to improve communication
and cooperative efforts within the FWS and between the FWS and these
other organizations.
Are there other offices like
yours in the FWS?
In the Southeast Region of the FWS there are two other fisheries
coordination offices — the South Atlantic FCO, located at Morehead City
and Raleigh, North Carolina; and the Lower Mississippi River FCO, located
at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Other FWS regions have similar offices that generally coordinate fisheries
and aquatic resource activities within discrete river basins. These
offices are generally referred to as river coordination offices. The
Large Rivers FCO, located at Rock Island, Illinois, coordinates a variety
of fisheries issues within the entire Mississippi River basin, with
an area of responsibility that transcends several FWS regions.
What are the FWS roles in managing Gulf of Mexico aquatic resources?
The FWS is chiefly concerned with management of what are referred
to as “interjurisdictional” resources. The term “interjurisdictional”
generally means a fish population that crosses state or international
boundaries.
In the Gulf the FWS is primarily concerned with restoration and management
of anadromous fish. The term “anadromous” refers to a species that spawns
in rivers but spends part of its life in the ocean. Also falling into
the interjurisdictional category are coastal and marine species such
as red drum, spotted sea trout, red snapper, and a multitude of others.
The FWS participates as a partner with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries
Commission and the Gulf states in helping to manage such species in
state coastal waters. The FWS is also a non-voting member of the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which manages fisheries in Federal
marine waters (out to 200 miles).
Besides these roles, the FWS also reviews development projects that
require federal funding or licensing and makes recommendations to reduce
damages to aquatic habitats. The FWS also enhances and restores aquatic
habitats through funding and carrying out specific on-the-ground projects.
The FWS is also responsible for implementing provisions of the federal
Endangered Species Act, which applies to several species in the Gulf.
What species in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened or endangered?
The Gulf sturgeon is currently listed as threatened. There
are also five species of sea turtles on the threatened and endangered
list. The Green, Hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, and Leatherback sea turtles
are endangered, and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle is threatened. Also, the
West Indian Manatee, found primarily in Florida, is endangered. The FWS
shares responsibility with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the
Gulf states in managing and recovering all of these species.
What anadromous species are found in the Gulf of Mexico?
There are three anadromous
fish species in the Gulf: the striped bass; Gulf sturgeon; and Alabama
shad. Anadromous fish spawn in rivers but spend part of their lives in
oceans.
Striped bass were native to Gulf of Mexico rivers from the Suwannee
River in Florida to at least the rivers draining into Lake Pontchartrain
in eastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. Striped bass populations
began declining earlier this century, and by the mid-1960s had disappeared
from all Gulf rivers except for the Apalachicola River system of Alabama,
Florida and Georgia. The FWS and Gulf states began cooperative efforts
to restore and maintain Gulf striped bass populations in the late 1960s,
mainly through stocking of hatchery-raised fingerlings, and this effort
continues today.
The Gulf sturgeon’s historic range was similar to the striped bass’,
and populations declined similarly to the striped bass as well. The
Gulf sturgeon was listed as threatened in 1991.
The Alabama shad’s historic range was similar to the striped bass
and Gulf sturgeon, but also extended well up the Mississippi River system.
Populations of Alabama shad are thought to have declined significantly
over the years, and population data are currently being evaluated in
order to determine what actions, if any, should be taken regarding this
species. Dams that have been built on many southeastern rivers are thought
to be a major reason for the decline of anadromous fish species in the
Gulf of Mexico.
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