Mobil Oil discovered gas in a deep well at the mouth of Mobile Bay in 

 late 1979. This well produced enough to encourage further drilling and, as a 

 result, there are now three platforms near the mouth of Mobile Bay in what 

 has been designated the Lower Mobile Bay Field (R. G. Hellmich, Alabama State 

 Oil and Gas Board, University, September 1982; pers. comm.). The number of 

 offshore petroleum platforms will soon increase as an additional 13 tracts 

 have been leased by the State for petroleum exploration (Hagopian 1981). 



Underwater obstructions and shipwrecks are plotted on both the U.S. Geolo- 

 gical Survey 7.5 min quadrangle maps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA) navigational charts of the area. Although the 

 composition of obstructions are usually not identified on NOAA charts, some 

 are submerged snags, pilings, or privately established fish havens. 



Shrimpers who regularly work in an area generally maintain an exhaustive 

 list of snag locations. A single shrimpboat may net a 61 m (200 ft) wide 

 swath of bottom at one time, and the chance of a snag fouling a shrimper's 

 net is quite high. Because a single snag may result in the loss of 

 thousands of dollars worth of fishing gear, shrimpers pay close attention to 

 their location and exchange information on snag locations with other 

 shrimpers. Although these snags are, in size and number, beyond the mapping 

 scale of this study, the shrimping community is a valuable source for anyone 

 seeking detailed information on the sea floor. 



Many shipwreck locations are generally well known and new sites are 

 reported to the U.S. Coast Guard by boaters. Excluding shipwrecks in rivers, 

 there are approximately 25 known shipwrecks in the study area, of which about 

 5 are in shallow enough water to be partially exposed. The most famous 

 shipwreck in Alabama waters is the Civil War ironclad vessel U.S.S. Tecumseh . 

 The wreck is in fairly good condition under about 9 m (30 ft) of water just 

 north of Fort Morgan. The U.S.S. Tecumseh is listed in the National Register 

 of Historic Places and is discussed further in that section. 



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