Texas Parks & Wildlife News, April 19, 1991 Page: 3
14 p. : ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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3
COASTAL ISSUES DISCUSSED
AT FISHERIES CONFERENCE
CLEAR LAKE--As fishing pressure increases and marine habitat continues to decrease, the
Texas coast may be the most seriously threatened ecosystem in the state.
Professionals from several agencies and groups spoke on coastal issues to about 100 people
attending the first Coastal Fisheries Conference, April 12-13 at the Nassau Bay Hilton here. The
conference was hosted by John Wilson Kelsey, vice-chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's coastal fisheries branch.
'We've got an incredible constituency group, all with a stake in what's happening in the Gulf of
Mexico, said Andy Sansom, TPWD executive director. "The Gulf of Mexico, in my view, is the most
seriously threatened ecosystem in the state. The resources on the coast are, biologically, the most
important resources in this state.
Sportfishing, the largest industry relating to coastal fisheries with 1.2 million saltwater anglers,
brings in about $2 billion a year in total economic impact to the state, said C.E. Bryan, director of TPWD's
fisheries resource program. While fishermen are landing five to six million fish each year, the numbers are
decreasing. The majority of fishing occurs in Galveston Bay where about 40 percent of the landings are
speckled seatrout.
Commercially, shrimp continues to be the number one catch, but fishermen are catching less
shrimp and receiving less money for them. Of the 80-115 million pounds of commercial landings each
year, about 90 percent are shrimp, making up 95 percent of the value, Bryan said.
One reason the shrimping industry is taking it on the chin is that there are more boats capable
of catching shrimp than the number of shrimp can support. Hal Osburn, director of the fisheries harvest
program, said total landings have remained constant the past 20 years, but the catch per boat has
plummeted.
Edward McCulla, chairman of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, updated the
group on red snapper regulations. GMFMC has recommended to the National Marine Fisheries Service a
red snapper limit of four million pounds, 2.04 million pounds for the commercial industry, and a seven fish
bag limit for recreational anglers. If the scientific data doesn't support recovery of the stock in the next two
to three years, though, the bag limit will be significantly reduced.
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Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department. Texas Parks & Wildlife News, April 19, 1991, periodical, April 19, 1991; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1032338/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.