Jubilee photo with crabs, flounder (flat brown fish), stingray, and an eel, at Weeks Bay NERR on eastern shore of Mobile Bay (click image to enlarge)

Jubilee is the name used locally ^[1] for a natural phenomenon that occurs from time to time on the shores of Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA. During a jubilee, blue crabs, shrimp, flounder, stingrays, and eels swarm toward the shore in such numbers that the shallow water near land seems to boil with life. People living near the shore ring bells and call out to alert their neighbors so that everyone can rush down to the water with washtubs, gigs and nets, and gather a bountiful -- and easily reaped -- harvest of seafood.^[1] As jubilees only happen on warm summer nights, often in the early pre-dawn hours, the event takes on the aspect of a joyous community beach party, with lights shining into the Bay water. Image File history File links Jubilee-Mobile-Bay-Alabama-crabs-flounders. ... Image File history File links Jubilee-Mobile-Bay-Alabama-crabs-flounders. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus A flounder blending into its environment Flounders are flatfish that live in ocean waters in Northern European waters and along the east coast of the United States and Canada, as well as the western Pacific. ... Genera Dasyatis Himantura Pastinachus Pteroplatytrygon Taeniura Urogymnus See text for species. ... Suborders Anguilloidei Nemichthyoidei Congroidei Synaphobranchoidei See text for families. ... Mobile Bay - Landsat photo Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. ... Mobile Bay - Landsat photo Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus A flounder blending into its environment Flounders are flatfish that live in ocean waters in Northern European waters and along the east coast of the United States and Canada, as well as the western Pacific. ... Genera Dasyatis Himantura Pastinachus Pteroplatytrygon Taeniura Urogymnus See text for species. ... Suborders Anguilloidei Nemichthyoidei Congroidei Synaphobranchoidei See text for families. ...

Cause

No one knows, for certain, what causes a jubilee. One theory revolves around oxygen lessening caused by decay of organic material settling on the bottom of the bay,^[1] a process that is accelerated during the summer. Coupled with certain climatic conditions, this is believed to drive the crabs, shrimp and fish (particularly the bottom-dwelling ones) toward the shore in a desperate search for more oxygen-rich water.^[1] General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ...

Although jubilees have been reported in other regions, Mobile Bay is perhaps the only body of water where this phenomenon occurs fairly regularly. Jubilees occur most often along the Bay's upper eastern shore, north from Great Point Clear to Fairhope and Daphne, Alabama; however, jubilees also occasionally happen south of Point Clear near Mullet Point or on the western shore of Mobile Bay at Deer River and Dog River. ^[2] Mobile Bay - Landsat photo Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. ... Point Clear is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Baldwin County, Alabama. ... Fairhope is a city located in Baldwin County, Alabama. ... Daphne is a city located in Baldwin County, Alabama. ... Point Clear is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Baldwin County, Alabama. ... Deer River may refer to Deer River (Michigan), a stream in Iron County Deer River, Minnesota, a city and a stream in Itasca County Deer River (New Hampshire), a tributary of Ossipee Lake Deer River (New York), a tributary of the Black River (New York) An unincorporated commuity in Lewis... The Dog River watershed drains more than 90 square miles (233 km²) within the city of Mobile and Mobile County in the U.S. state of Alabama. ...

Predictions

Jubilees cannot be predicted with certainty. Local folklore offers some clues for telling when a jubilee might be in the offing: Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ...

• the water is calm the day before and during the event itself;
• the wind is gentle and blowing from the east;
• the tide is rising; and,
• the sky is cloudy or overcast.

Not all of these conditions must be present before a jubilee can occur, though, nor does the presence of all of them at once guarantee a jubilee. To the residents of Mobile Bay's eastern and western shores, the jubilee remains as a mysterious -- and most welcomed -- gift from nature and an important part of their food heritage. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

Notes

1. ^ ^a b c d "NOAA's National Ocean Service: Estuaries - Dissolved Oxygen" (jubilee), NOAA, March 24, 2005, OceanService.NOAA.gov webpage: NOAA-Jubilee.
2. ^ "Jubilee - City of Fairhope" (description of event), City of Fairhope, Alabama, 2005, webpage: COFairhopeCom-Jubilee.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ... Oxygen saturation or dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of amount of oxygen dissolved in a given medium. ... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ... Fairhope is a city located in Baldwin County, Alabama. ...

References

• "NOAA's National Ocean Service: Estuaries - Dissolved Oxygen" (jubilee), NOAA, March 24, 2005.

• "Jubilee - City of Fairhope" (description of event), City of Fairhope, Alabama, 2005.