Mobile Bay jubilee

30°34′12″N 87°55′34″W / 30.57°N 87.926°W / 30.57; -87.926

A Jubilee event at Weeks Bay National Estuary Research Reserve[1] showing the macroorganic density typical of the event. Pictured here are crabs, flounder, stingray, and an eel.

Jubilee is the name used locally for a natural phenomenon that occurs sporadically on the shores of Mobile Bay, a large body of water on Alabama's Gulf Coast. During a jubilee many species of crab and shrimp, as well as flounder, eels, and other demersal fish will leave deeper waters and swarm—in large numbers and very high density—in a specific, shallower coastal area of the bay.[2] A jubilee is a celebrated event in Mobile Bay, and it attracts large crowds, many drawn by the promise of abundant and easy-to-catch seafood.[3]

Although similar events have been reported in other bodies of water, Mobile Bay is the only place where the regular appearance of this phenomenon has been documented.[4]

  1. ^ "Weeks Bay Reserve, Alabama". Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  2. ^ Loesch, H. 1960. Sporadic Mass Shoreward Migrations of Demersal fish and Crustaceans in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Ecology. Volume 41:292–298
  3. ^ May, E.B. 1973. Extensive oxygen depletion in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Limnology and Oceanography 18:353–366.
  4. ^ "Jubilee - City of Fairhope" (description of event), City of Fairhope, Alabama, 2005, webpage: COFairhopeCom-Jubilee Archived 2006-10-18 at the Wayback Machine.