Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 15, 1979 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 19 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
PAGE 2
SOUTH JETTY
FEBRUARY 15, 1979
EDITORIAL
Senate Facing Fisheries Question
— To Allocate Or Not To Allocate
i;iimiiii:miil Fish Lumliiiys
TOTAL LANDINGS
September 1977 through August 1978 _________
Senate Bill 302 was discussed last week in the Senate Natural
Resources Committee and sent to Sub-committee for further
study, as it well should have been. The bill represents a new
concept in the legislature’s continuing gamut into political
fisheries management, and the concept proposed deserves full
discussion before continuing on its road to becoming state policy.
The idea is not a complex one, but it represents a significant
move in the allocation of the state’s saltwater fisheries resources.
Senate Bill 302 says, in essence, that anyone who is not involved
in the commercial fishing of finfish by August 31, 1980 may not
enter this industry as an occupation in the future. Licenses will be
issued to applicants who hold commercial licenses, but they must
demonstrate that their principal income is derived from sales of
finfish. The same holds for renewals of licenses after the original
finfish licenses are issued in 1980.
Finfish are defined as “spotted seatrout (Speckled trout); red
drum (redfish); black drum (drum); southern flounder;
sheepshead; Atlantic croaker; sand seatrout (sand trout); and
gafftopsail catfish (gafftop). This list represents nearly all the
finfish landed in the state that have commercial value.
What the bill intends to do, through time, is reduce and
eventually eliminate commercial finishing in the state, without
legislating working fishermen out of business overnight. The bona
fide working commercial fishermen, in 1980, would have their
livelihood secure for the rest of their lives, provided they kept
fishing as a principal source of income each year.
GULF LANDINGS
BAY LANDINGS
TOTAL LANDINGS
POUNDS
VALUE
POUNDS
VALUE
POUNDS
VALUE
FISH
16,905
$ 4,966
$
16,905
$ 4,966
4,087
474
30,145
3,617
34,232
4,091
Drum, Black...........
Redfish ........
39,428
8,132
1,622,056
525,889
1,661,484
534,021
14.832
8,053
764,803
480,937
779,635
488,990
79,262
39,631
214.060
134,232
293,322
173,863
Grouper .............
King Whiting...........
41,343
20,064
10,160
2,485
6,540
1,246
41,343
26,604
10,160
3,731
26,395
2,387
8,399
1,488
34,794
3,875
Pompano.............
148
206
607
481
755
687
18,083
8,997
46,598
9,226
64,681
18,223
Sea Trout. Spotted.......
45,568
29,419
1,051,332
64 7,525
1,096,900
676,944
Sea Trout, White........
Sheepshead ...........
19,613
3,458
7,349
279,419
3,648
32,642
7,349
299,032
3,648
36,100
Snapper, Red..........
425,818
403,378
313
63
426,131
403,441
Unclassified Food........
36,349
7,703
66,808
12,953
103,157
20,656
Unclassified Scrap........
60,269
6,579
57,117
8,363
117,386
14,942
TOTAL FISH........
848,164
536,028
4,155,546
1,862,310
5,003,710
2,398,338
SHELLFISH
Crabs, Blue............
7,233
1,319
8,046,960
2,038,3 76
8,054,193
2,039,695
Shrimp (Heads On)
Brown & Pink........
62,312,546
92,761,804
5,066,990
1,889,4 74
67,3 79,536
94,651,278
White.............
12,022,730
19,207,091
9,085,379
8,4 72,635
21,108.109
27,679,726
Other.............
305,576
339,347
1,600
320
307,1 76
339,667
Oysters..............
Squid...............
12,217
3,772
2,259,400
6,399
2,685,876
2,150
2,259,400
18,616
2,685,876
5,922
TOTAL SHELLFISH . . .
74,660,302
112,313,333
24,466,728
15,088,831
99,127,030
127,402,164
GRAND TOTAL......
75,508,466
$112,849,361
28,622,274
$16,951,141
104,130,740
5129,800,502
What the bill represents in terms of a finding and policy
decision is that the finfish resources of the state cannot support
all the pressures that are being applied through loss of habitat,
recreational fishing and commercial fishing, and the resource
should be allocated among the interests.
It is this allocation process that must be the subject of careful
public consideration. The allocation decision, as expressed by
Senate Bill 302, is that commercial fishing for finfish in Texas
should be reduced and eventually eliminated, while recreational
fishing is still open to all comers, within whatever limits of catch
may be set by the legislature or the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department. There are now limits on size and catch of redfish
and speckled trout that are quite liberal, considering the state of
emergency with these stocks that the Parks and Wildlife
Department would have us believe.
The unmentioned allocation is in the area of the growth of
industrial, residential and recreational developments that have,
and continue to result in habitat loss for the fisheries and water
quality degradation that further limits the stocks. This form of
activity has already taken its allocation without ever having it
defined in these terms. And every time another oyster reef is
dredged, another marsh is filled, another channel is placed in a
productive wetland, an additional portion of the allocation is
confiscated by this sector.
LANDINGS BY DISTRICTS IN POUNDS
September 1977 through August 1978
SABINE
GALVESTON
MATAGORDA
ARANSAS
LAGUNA
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
FISH
Cobia (Ling)..........
12,187
2,604
2,114
Croaker.............
8,999
430
5,529
19.274
Drum, Black..........
42,525
157,139
20,356
264,428
1,1 77,036
Redfish.............
50
26,757
38,192
253,343
461,293
Flounder............
2,357
65,276
24,569
152,250
48.870
Grouper ............
40
18,012
10,819
12,4 72
King Whiting..........
1,777
23,362
940
272
253
Mullet.............
5,327
557
4,134
24,776
Pompano............
12
326
417
Gafftop Catfish........
33,251
3,325
8,858
19,247
Sea Trout, Spotted......
364,806
44,256
246,254
441,584
Sea Trout, White.......
1,321
5,199
829
Sheepshead ..........
281
66,884
2,718
81,081
148,068
Snapper, Red.........
3,111
114,712
2,214
65,512
240,582
Unclassified Food.......
93,239
1,04 7
1,445
7,426
Unclassified Scrap.......
92,767
247
24,372
TOTAL FISH.......
50,141
1,084,051
138,604
1,102,301
2,628,613
SHELLFISH
Crabs, Blue...........
502,018
1,894,148
599,323
4,428,091
630,603
Shrimp (Heads On)
Brown & Pink.......
1,020,078
16,625,323
4,036,470
20,049,675
25,64 7,990
White............
1,815,117
9,354,517
3,184,552
5,619,215
1,134,708
Other............
23,442
93,593
3,840
186,301
Oysters.............
1,560,301
175,366
508,450
15,283
Squid..............
16,305
2,261
50
TOTAL SHELLFISH . .
3,360,665
29,544.187
7,997,972
30,609,321
27,614,885
GRAND TOTAL
3,410,806
30,628,238
8,136,576
31,711,622
30,243,498
Balancing the interests is a difficult process, but we
maintain, still possible given the extent to which Texas waters are
still undisturbed. But the goal must be one of maintaining an
optimum yield of desirable species with all interests considered.
Senate Bill 302 approaches the question of management of the
fish stocks in an expedient way, whether desirable or not. It
would eventually eliminate one of the defined sources of pressure
on the fish stocks, thus potentially providing a greater allocation
to the other two pressure, or interest groups.
The question facing the senate, whose real mandate is to act
in the best interest of the people of Texas is a fairly simple one:
Is it going to seek a temporary solution to the problem of
apparently declining fisheries stocks by eliminating one of the
three significant pressure points, or is it going to take the more
tedious and difficult approach of trying to manage all three
sectors in a manner consistent with optimum yield of the state’s
fisheries resources? Public input in this difficult decision is
needed, as it represents a significant policy move on the part of
the state. Comments should he addressed to Sen. A. R. “Babe”
Schwartz, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee,
in Austin.
One other issue raises itself with Senate Biii 302. Thai is the
provision that would have the bill, should it become law, expire
on September 1, 1983. The aim of this is to indicate that the
policy move is experimental, and will self-destruct unless
initiative is taken to reinstate it. We submit that the short period
of time involved between 1980 and 1983 is not enough to
determine whether the ac tion is having any benefits relative to
the long-term management of the fisheries, and that the
seif-destruct clause is yet another decision for expediency, in this
case, aimed toward making the bill more palatable to commercial
fishing interests
Letter From The Port Aransas
Fire Department
“We, the Port Aransas Volunteer Fire Department, recognize
that the City of Port Aransas is growing at an ever increasing
rate, and that the threat of destruction by fire grows in
proportion. Therefore, we, the undersigned, believe that there is
a need for citizens of Port Aransas and all other concerned and
interested individuals to organize and form the Port Aransas
Volunteer Fire Department, in order to save lives and to aid in
the protection and prevention against fires. Also, to render our
services and aid in all other emergencies that require our services
and presence.
It is our intention to protect, prevent and aid in the
extinguishing of any and all fires that require our presence, and
to aid in maintaining an adequate Fire Department. It is our
sincere intention to fulfill these civic duties to the best of our
abilities. ’ ’
This is the preamble which heads the By-Laws of the Port
Aransas Volunteer Fire Department We strive to accomplish all
of these goals at all times. However, at the present we have the
iowest membership of all times.
We need willing and loyal volunteers to give their time and
efforts to serve the needs of our rapidly growing community. If
you are interested in serving Port Aransas, please come by the
Fire Station and fill out an application. Our regular meetings are
held every Wednesday night at 7 p m at the Fire Station on Fast
Ave. C. Or you may contact our Fire Chief Bobhy Motes at
749-3693, our Chairman Frank Culp at 749-6971, or our
Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Hall at 749-3813.
• Thank You
P.A.V.F D.
^JSjpaBTr#
Wtexas press
ASSOCIATION
Owner - Editor: Steve Frishman
SOUTH JETTY is published
every Thursday by the South Jetty
Publishing Co., Port Aransas,
Texas. Subscription rate is $10.00
per year. 20 cents by the sing’e
copy.
Subscription and Office Marug-
er: Sue Frishman
Address all correspondence to:
South Jetty Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 1116
Port Aransas, Texas 78373.
Office: 201 E. Cotter Avenue,
Port Aransas, Texas. Phone 749-
6377 and 749-5282.
Display advertising deadline,
Monday, 12 noon, the week of
publication.
The publisher will gladly correct
any erroneous statement regard-
ing corporations, firms, or individ-
uals. when called to his attention.
Second ( lass Postage is paid at
Port Aransas, Texas.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Frishman, Steve. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 15, 1979, newspaper, February 15, 1979; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth601442/m1/2/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.