Miss. agencies research red snapper

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Marine biologists are studying how artificial reefs may help restore red snapper numbers.

The study is being conducted by Mississippi State University's Forest and Wildlife Research Center and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

MSU biologist Don Jackson says in the past 20 years, red snapper stocks are estimated to have declined by as much as 90 percent in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 destroyed many of the artificial reefs that were in place and functioning along the Gulf Coast.