Mr. Walter Eley Ross Sr. is a retired commercial fisherman on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He was born on March 16, 1924, in Biloxi, Mississippi,to Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Ross. His father was a commercial fisherman, house builder, and boat builder. His mother was a housewife. Mr. Ross began fishing with his father commercially when he was a teenager, and he continued in that profession for fifty-three years. Ross also served in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of sergeant. He is a Catholic.

Mr. Wesley Howard Stork is a retired commercial fisherman on Gulf Coast. Stork was born on December 12, 1926, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Mr. Henry Wilson Stork (born in Leavenworth, Kansas) and Mrs. Hattie Belle Clark Stork (born in Pascagoula, Mississippi). His father was a commercial fisherman and the owner of a merchandise store. His mother was a housewife, who worked in the family store. Stork’s father’s name was Hinklemeyer (sp?), and he changed his surname to Stork, which was his mother’s maiden name.

William C. Stewart is a commercial shrimper on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He was born on February 11, 1963, at Gulfport Memorial Hospital, Harrison County, Mississippi, to Mr. William Stewart (born in 1933, in Woolmarket, Mississippi) and Mrs. Barbara B. Stewart (born in 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana). His father was an attorney and a judge in Gulfport, Mississippi. His father’s family were schooner captains, loggers, and shrimpers. His mother was a homemaker, who worked as William Colmer’s secretary and as a medical administrator.

Mr. William “Billy” Thiroux is a commercial fisherman on the Gulf Coast.  Thiroux was born on July 4, 1937, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mr. Louis Thiroux and Mrs. Katherine Pauli Thiroux. His father was a commercial fisherman. His mother worked in the seafood plants as a shrimp picker and a crab picker. His mother’s family were commercial fishermen. Mr. Thiroux finished the eleventh grade, and thereupon joined the US Navy.