Living on or visiting the Alabama Gulf Coast has so many rewards it’s sometimes hard to fathom. Enjoying the sun and sugar-white sand beaches is just one of the incredible outdoor experiences in LA (Lower Alabama). One outdoor experience is so rare that it occurs in only two places in the world — Mobile Bay is one of those places!
What is a Jubilee Phenomenon?
The rare phenomenon known as a jubilee occurs when mostly bottom-dwelling creatures in the bay are forced to the shoreline because a layer of water with low-dissolved oxygen moves to the shore under certain environmental conditions. Those conditions can also affect the saltwater species that crowd the shoreline, including flounder, shrimp, crabs, or saltwater catfish, known locally as “hardhead catfish,” contributing to the unique marine life of the area. Sometimes, jubilees can include just a single Mobile Bay fish species. Then, on other occasions, a bay bonanza unfolds, and all the fish in Mobile Bay stack up on the water’s edge. Jubilees almost always happen during the dog days of summer fishing season, when the weather is steamiest.
Where Can I See a Jubilee?
Jubilees are rare. So rare, in fact, they occur in only two places in the entire world — Tokyo Bay in Japan and our own Mobile Bay. Jubilees can range anywhere from 500 feet in length to 15 miles and traditionally are found on the Eastern Shore from Daphne to south of Point Clear. Jubilees are known to occasionally occur on the western shore of Mobile Bay as well, but are less common.
How Often Do Jubilees Happen?
Old-timers will tell you that jubilees most often follow an afternoon rain shower and an easterly or northeasterly wind. During the summer, the water in certain areas becomes depleted of oxygen because of the breakdown of organic material and phytoplankton activity. An easterly breeze creates a water current that causes the oxygen-poor water to migrate toward the shore. This traps the bottom-dwelling species in the shallow water.
A Mobile Bay Jubilee is even rarer when the event continues after daybreak. The “Jubilee Network” kicks into gear when the conditions are right, and lookouts will search for the early stages of the phenomenon. When it appears a jubilee will happen, those within the network get a call to head to the shoreline. Back in the day, jubilees were a means of subsistence for those who gathered the bounty. Now, it’s an opportunity to witness a rare natural phenomenon and participate in a rare type of fishing.
Are There Fishing Restrictions During a Jubilee?
Flounder giggers can have a field day during a jubilee, but unlike the not-too-distant past, flounder now have bag and size limits. The bag limit is five per person, with a minimum length of 14 inches. About a decade ago, the flounder population in Alabama waters had declined significantly, prompting the Alabama Marine Resources Division to institute the bag and size limits. Fortunately, flounder have responded and appear to be rebounding in state waters.
The recreational limit on shrimp with heads on is one five-gallon bucket per day. The limit on jubilee crabs is one five-gallon bucket per day with a 5-inch minimum carapace (shell point to point). All jubilee participants who are 16 to 64 years old who harvest shrimp by cast net or harvest any finfish like flounder, speckled trout and redfish are required to have an Alabama saltwater fishing license. Those 16 and older are required to have a saltwater angler registry to protect marine life in the Gulf Shores.
Planning to See the Next Jubilee
Of course, the environmental conditions must be just right for a jubilee, with August usually being the best month, although they can also occur in September. I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in numerous jubilees and have seen flounder stacked on top of each other in only a few inches of water. And I’ve seen only shrimp jubilees where those who were efficient with a cast net could catch their limit in only a few casts. I’ve also seen so many hardhead catfish and eels that nothing else could get to the shoreline. I’ve witnessed times when all the conditions were right, and a jubilee was on the verge of happening when something disrupted the whole event, which occurred when a wake from a ship traveling down the Mobile Ship Channel crashed into the Eastern Shore.
A jubilee truly is a spectacle that’s hard to believe until you see it. Plan a trip to the Alabama Gulf Coast during the steamy days of August or early September, and you just might just get a chance to witness nature’s rare treasure on display.
