Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 18, 1979 Page: 1 of 8
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VOLUME 9 - NO. 18 - PRICE 25 CENTS ON MUSTANC ISLAND, TEXAS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1979
Spill Effects Hit Economy
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THE WHITE MARLIN WENT WILD for BUI Easum
aboard his boat Island Delights one day last week.
Fishing in about 50 fm. off Southern, Bill (1) and his
hand Phil Kindla (r) hooked three white marlin in
short order, boating two for mounting, and releasing
one after tagging it. They had five or six other white
up that day as well, fishing with small mullet and
kona teasers. In the photo are a 7 foot, 58 pound
marlin, and a 6 foot 9 inch, 48 pound marlin. Quite a
day in anyone's book. Inshore fishing is stiU erratic,
with a few kingfish still seen along with some
dolphin. Along the shore, redfish, croaker and
whiting are hitting in the surf, there are some trout
and reds around the jetties, back in the bays there
are lots of small redfish, and the flounder are on the
move, showing up along the channel banks and in the
surf.
Luby Wants Boat Traffic In Fish Pass
Retail sales in Port Aransas
began showing serious effects of
the Ixtoc oil spill in September,
according to sales tax return
figures provided for the period
August 27 through September 27.
Also affecting the local retail
market, which is largely tourist
dependant, was some bad weather
in September.
Retail sales in Port Aransas
were down 24 percent during this
September period, as compared to
the same period a year ago. But,
local sales for the year-to-date are
still running 15 percent above last
year’s figure. If inflation is
subtracted from this year’s figure,
local retail sales are showing a
slight net gain over last year, but
less than the normal annual
growth.
State-wide, retail sales figures
for September were up about 12
percent over last September, but
Corpus Christi, also affected by
the news of the oil spill and the
bad weather, showed an 18
percent decline in retail sales
dollars during the September
period, when compared to last
September.
South Padre Island, until re-
cently Port Aransas economic twin
in the reactions of its tourism-
based economy, showed gains in
its retail sales during the Sep-
tember period, in spite of bad
news about oil covered beaches,
and some bad weather. For
September, South Padre Island
Wyatt Introduces
Second Oil Spill
Relief Bill
In an effort to provide sufficient
alternatives, U.S. Congressman
Joe Wyatt has introduced a
second bill to help those affected
by the Bay of Campeche oil spill
recover losses. This second bill by
Wyatt was introduced Friday,
October 12; the first was intro
duced September 20.
“The first bill would amend the
Federal Water Pollution Control
Act as the means to help recover
losses,” said Wyatt, “This bill
takes a different tack. This one
doesn’t amend any existing act,
but incorporates some existing
provisions to create a new law.
“I think its very helpful for
Congress to have to separate
tacks to go at when they are
trying to decide how to deal with
a problem like this. There are, of
course, many options for Congress
to consider when deciding how to
provide relief. I believe it will be
most heipfui for Congress to have
these two concrete proposals to
look at.
The new bill would set up an
$800 million fund to implement
the relief effort. The relief plan
would be implemented by the
Secretary of Transporation as in
the first bill. The legislation
mirrors the Offshore Oil Spill
Pollution Fund which was created
by the Outer Continental Shelf
showed an increase of 20 percent
in retail sales dollars, with a
year-to-date growth of 37 percent
in retail sales, when compared to
last year.
Port Aransas has, so far this
year, received over $77,000 as its
one percent share of the 5 percent
state and local sales tax. In the
same period, South Padre Island
has netted $95,000.
Taxable retail sales in Port
Aransas, during the September
period totalled about $880,000,
while at South Padre, the total
was just short of $1.1 million.
Local business owners are still
speculating on how long the
effects of the oil spill publicity will
be reflected in their sales. The
word is beginning to spread
around the nation that south
Texas beaches are no longer oil
coated, though some regular
winter visitors still appear to be
reluctant to return to Port
Aransas. Reports are that the
Canadian tours that visit here
during about three months of the
winter have not been cancelled,
and Canadian visitors will be
arriving here on schedule this
winter.
With the Ixtoc well blow-out
still not capped, it is uncertain
what will be the condition of local
beaches next spring when the
currents once again return to a
northward flow. The present
southerly flow is keeping oil far
south of Texas beaches.
Lands Act Amendments of 1978.
Because of the location of the
Ixtoc I well, the existing law does
not now cover the current spill.
The relief, under the second bill,
would fall under the discretion of
the Secretary of Transportation
because the Coast Guard, which
has been the chief government
agency involved in the cleanup,
falls under the Department of
Transportation.
“Another important provision of
this bill, is that it authorizes
money to establish a fish hatchery
in Texas, thus meeting the serious
concerns of the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department that signifi-
cant number of redfish larva were
endangered during the worst of
the spill,” said Wyatt, “It’s
unfortunate that the redfish were
threatened during this operation.
This second bill provides for any
damages in that area.
“I don’t want to say which bill
is better. It’s not a question of
better or worse. 1 have just
presented two different paths for
the Congress to look at and decide
upon.”
Co sponsors of the wyatt bill on
the date of introduction were
Congressmen Kika de la Garza
(D-Tx), John Murphy (D-NY). Ray
Roberts (D-Tx), John Breaux
(D-La), Henry Gonzalez (D-Tx),
Jake Pickle (D-Tx), Tom Locfflcr
(R-Tx), Bob Eckhardt (D-Tx),
Brian Donnelly (D-Mass), and
Michael Lowry (D-Wash).
County Commissioner J.P. Luby
has proposed to the Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department that the
Mustang Island Water Exchange
Pass be enlarged, have a high-
span bridge built, and be opened
to boat traffic from Corpus Christi
Bay.
The narrow, badly shoaled pass
is in the Mustang Island State
Park, and under P&W jurisdic-
tion. The severe shoaling is a
result of a combination of design
factors in the original construction
of the pass thqt was opened in
1972. These factors include the
narrowness of the channel, a bend
in the channel, and jetties that
only extend a short distance from
the shoreline.
Luby said that it would not be
expensive to dredge the channel
larger, but the main expense
would be building of a bridge on
Park Road 53 high enough to
allow passage of pleasure boats.
At present, the eastern half of the
channel is closed to boats.
Luby, whose precinct includes
Mustang and North Padre Island
in Nueces County, said that
increased property values and fuel
saving* by boats coming from
Corpus Christi Bay would justify
the expansion project. Obviously
much of the benefit he sees in the
expansion of the channel would
acrue to the development on north
Padre Island. The developers
there have long wanted boat
access to the gulf without having
to cross the bay and go through
the pass at Port Aransas. Initially,
it was thought that the developers
there would attempt to open
Packery Channel to the Gulf, but
dredging and construction ex-
pense. permitting problems, and
the fact that the Packery Channel
land was found to be the property
of the state of Texas makes this
alternative an unlikely one for
future pursuit.
So far, there has been no
response to Luby’s proposal
reported from the Parks and
Wildlife Department. In past
years, the department has been
reluctant to even consider main-
tenance dredging in the cut that,
in many places, can be crossed by
waders.
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Frishman, Steve. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 18, 1979, newspaper, October 18, 1979; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth601419/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.