Winter Texans (Part 2)

This is our second "Winter Texan" post (link), but our third post on our time in the Coastal Bend. Here we turn our attention to the coastal waters. Marine recreational fishing is a popular pastime in the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and a significant economic driver. In 2011, an estimated 5.3 million anglers made 22.3 million trips into the Gulf of Mexico harvesting over 62 million fishes (76 million pounds) and spending $1.5 billion on trips (gas, food, lodging, bait, guide fees, etc.) and $8.3 billion on durable goods (fishing tackle and clothing, licenses, boats, vehicles and second homes).

Sight-fishing for fish feeding on the flats in St. Charles Bay

In Texas in 2011, 751,000 anglers made 2.2 million trips. They spent an estimated $402 million on trips and $1 billion on durable goods generating 13,300 jobs. Non-residents were 10% of all Texas anglers (link). 

Wade-fishing in Copano Bay

Fishing pier on the pass between Copano and Aransas bays
The bridge connects the Live Oak and Lamar peninsulas

Recreational fishermen need artificial lures or bait to catch fish. Lots of stores sell lures; as for bait, fishermen can catch their own, or buy it at bait stands. Texas defines bait broadly as something used to lure wild animals, birds and aquatic life, but specifies that game fish, either whole or in part, cannot be used as bait. Only non-game fish can be caught and used as bait. Crabs, shrimp and other aquatic life can be harvested and sold as bait. Texas requires people or businesses that buy and sell bait to have a bait dealers' license, and the dealers have to tell the state what they buy from anyone other than another bait dealer, or what they catch themselves, in commercial harvest reports (link).

Launch ramp and bait stand on Copano Bay

The largest bait stand I visited was in Aransas Pass, about 20 minutes south of Rockport. A steady stream of fishermen came to buy live bait while I was there; most arrived by boat on the channel behind the shop. I asked about the different types of live bait and got a quick tour. They wanted to know if I was a reporter (no), but they were okay with me taking pictures and asking questions. All of the bait stands that I saw flew flags announcing what they had in stock.

Capt's Bait Shack at Aransas Pass

Fisherman buying live bait

What's for sale in the Bait Shack

Fishermen arriving to buy bait. The Capt. Steve, a commercial fishing boat, uses
bottom trawls to catch bait and live wells on the deck to keep them alive

Three-inch long mantis shrimp (locally known as sea lice) and three-inch wide blue crabs

There are four colorful bait stands on Rockport Harbor. They're popular with photographers and painters, and can be found in local in art galleries and tourist magazines. 

Capt. Cady's on Rockport Harbor

Bea's Bait on Rockport Harbor

Fleming's Bait Stand on Rockport Harbor

Mom's Bait Shop on Rockport Harbor

Signs in Capt. Cady's window
Bait house rule #3: All unattended children will be sold for bait

Commercial marine fisheries are a major industry and economic driver in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. From 2000 through 2014, U.S. commercial fishermen landed an average of 9.3 billion pounds of fish and shellfish worth $4.3 billion. Marine fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico landed 1.5 billion pounds, 16% of total U.S. landings of fish and shellfish, worth $753 million (18% of total U.S. market value). Atlantic menhaden, a finfish primarily “reduced” to fish meal and fish oil, dominated landings by pounds, but shrimp and, to a lesser extent, oysters dominated landings by value. Marine fisheries in Texas produced 6% of the total Gulf of Mexico landings in the worth 27% of the total market value. Shrimp accounted for 85% of the Texas landings and 86% of the value. Oysters were 5% of total Texas landings and 8% of the market value (link).

Shrimp boats in Fulton Harbor on Aransas Bay

Shrimp boats in Port O'Connor on Matagorda Bay about an hour northeast of Rockport

Fishermen's memorial at Aransas Pass: "In memory of fishermen who lost their lives at sea"

Texas ranks second among states for commercial landings of eastern oysters. From 2000 through 2014, Texas landed an average of 5 million pounds (shucked weight) worth an average of $16 million. The state accounted for 20% of U.S. landings (link). Oyster reefs are most extensive in bays with freshwater inflows. Around Rockport, the largest oyster reefs are in northern Aransas Bay and central Copano Bay (link).

Oyster boats in Fulton Harbor

Oyster dredge in towing position

A different style of oyster dredge (upside down)

Oysters are harvested with a dredge, a toothed bar up to four feet long attached to a metal basket. The dredge is towed, often in a circular pattern, over the reef and then hauled aboard where it is emptied and legal-sized oysters (3 inches) are sorted from small oysters and empty shells. In the early 2000s, oyster boat limits were 150 burlap sacks per boat per day; today the limit is 50 sacks per boat per day. Texas stopped selling new commercial oyster licenses in 2005. Oyster reefs and oyster populations have declined because of hurricanes, severe droughts (reduced freshwater inflows), increased fishing pressure (more oyster boats) and impacts of fishing gear (reduced reef height and oyster density) (link, link).

The Milton D oystering in Compano Bay (note mud trail around the boat)

Oyster reef in Copano Bay at low tide

We were crossing the bridge that connects the Lamar and Live Oak peninsulas and saw a parade of more than 30 oyster boats heading to Fulton Harbor. By regulation, oyster boats have to cease fishing at 3:30 PM. We were witnessing a race, albeit slow, to the docks to unload. We drove to the harbor to watch the show. Once in the harbor, the captains jockey for position to unload their burlap sacks full of oysters. The following sequence of pictures focuses on the Milton D while it docks and unloads. Most oyster boats tow their dredge over the stern and stack their oyster-filled sacks there for unloading. The Milton D tows its dredge from the starboard side and unloads its catch through the same opening, which means it docks lengthwise taking up the equivalent space of two boats that unload over the stern. 

Milton D arrives bow first with a boat behind him looking for an opening and
one can be seen returning to the harbor in the distance

Skipper of the Milton D converses with the crew of a boat trying to dock

Crew of the Milton D loading the first pallet of oyster sacks; oyster dredge is on a table

It took the Milton D eight minutes to dock, unload over 40 sacks of oysters on two pallets and depart. The white tag, or ticket, on the sacks of oysters identifies the time and location of harvest and other information required by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The oyster dealer uses the ticket to record oyster landings, which are compiled and reported by the state and used for harvest management. By regulation, a burlap sack of oysters weighs less than 110 pounds and fits in a box 20 inches by 10 inches by 13.5 inches (link).

Fist pallet is carried away to a buyer

Second pallet is carried away to a buyer

Milton D departs and another boat docks with deckhands showing their skills at lassoing pilings

In 2008, Hurricane Ike destroyed about 6,000 acres of oyster reefs, more than half of the reefs in Galveston Bay, which accounted for 70% of commercial landings in Texas. State landings declined by 50% in 2008 and 2009. Since 2009, more than 1,300 acres have been restored in Galveston Bay. State landings returned to pre-2008 levels in 2010 as oystermen shifted effort to other bays (link). 

Restored oyster reefs in Little Bay

In 2015, oyster reefs were restored in Little Bay in Rockport to stabilize the shoreline (reduce erosion), improve water quality and create habitat for other marine organisms. Twenty-eight sections 30 feet wide and 100-500 feet long were built with 20 tons of oyster shells (cultch) laid over small pieces of concrete aggregate. The reefs extend three-quarters of a mile along the western shoreline of Little Bay, just down the street from the house we rented (interpretive sign on the bay; link).

Restored oyster reef; the netting, which is covered with algae, protects the reef

On our trips to Padre Island National Seashore (link), we took the ferry from Aransas Pass on the mainland across the Corpus Christi Ship Channel to Port Aransas on Mustang Island, a barrier island between San José and Padre islands. Up to six ferries operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The ride takes about 10 minutes and it’s free (link). The 30-mile long, 45-foot deep ship channel connects the Port of Corpus Christi to the Gulf of Mexico. The port is the eighth-largest in the U.S. handling over 6,000 ships a year (link). 

The River Shiner, a  750-foot oil tanker built  in South Korea and flagged in the
Marshall Islands (link), is loading at an oil refinery in Corpus Christi

The Yulia, a 600-foot bulk carrier built in China and flagged in Liberia (link), coming down the ship channel

Four bottlenose dolphins riding Yulia's bow wave (photographed from the Aransas Jetty)

The wakes of 6,000 ships transiting the ship channel would erode the banks if they were not hardened

We were returning to Rockport via the Port Aransas ferry on a weekday afternoon and ended up in line at the terminal with 30 cars ahead of us. Two of the three ferries were already loaded; we got on the third ferry and sat for another 15 minutes. Two ferries across the channel were also loaded and waiting. Two tugboats, each pushing two barges in series, were coming down the ship channel from Corpus Christi and the five loaded ferries had to wait. Once the tugs passed the terminals, the ferries all left at the same time. They fanned out up and down the channel giving each other room to pass and maneuver in the strong currents, and arrived on opposite sides almost simultaneously. The captains had done this so often it looked like a choreographed dance.

Ferry terminal at Aransas Pass with two ferries docked

Ferries crossing the ship channel behind a ship heading to the Gulf of Mexico

The deep-sea oil rig in the photos is the West Sirus owned by Seadrill. The semi-submersible rig looks like it's being outfitted for it's next job. It was built in Singapore in 2008 and operates in the Gulf of Mexico. It is 380 feet long and 300 feet wide and accommodates 180 people; the derrick is 210 feet high. It can drill in a maximum of 10,000 feet of water to a maximum depth of 35,000 feet (link).

Ferry crossing the ship channel

Great-tailed grackles are common in upland and wetland habitats in the Coastal Bend. They're smart and audacious. We saw them feeding opportunistically among cattle and and whooping and sandhill cranes. Several of them ride the ferries between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas searching the beds of pickup trucks for food scraps and walking among cars begging from drivers.

Great-tailed grackle on a pickup truck waiting to board the ferry to Port Aransas

The red tugboat in the picture below is an articulated tug pushing an oil-filled barge. The tug fits into a notch in the stern of the barge and is held by a rigid connection that only allows movement up and down (pitch fore and aft). Contrast that with the conventional tugboat that it's towing: it can push or pull (from a bollard) a vessel, or tie along side and guide it. The articulated tug and barge (ATB) acts as one unit and is faster and more efficient than a conventional tugboat, but not as versatile. Tugboat Kim M. Bouchard is 146 feet long and 44 feet wide and is rated to 10,000 horse power. It's mated to a barge that carries 250,000 barrels of oil (link). See these links for a discussion of ATBs and conventional tugboats (link, link). 

The tugboat Kim M. Bouchard pushing a barge and towing a conventional 
tugboat heading down the ship channel for the Gulf of Mexico

While we're on the subject of tugboats, it won't surprise you that propulsion systems have evolved. Now, instead of a fixed propeller in front of a movable rudder, propellers sit in rotating units – steerable propellers, or azimuth thrusters, that can rotate 360 degrees improving ship maneuverability. The William M  below is 102 feet long and 37 feet wide with two 16-cylinder diesel engines (4,000 horsepower total) and azimuth thrusters mounted forward, one of which has been removed for servicing (link). 

The William M in dry-dock in the Port of Corpus Christi

The Port Aransas Jetty on the south side of the ship channel where it enters the Gulf of Mexico is 1.2 miles long with more than half of it surrounded by water. It's popular with fishermen and site seers, and people camp in RVs in the dirt parking lot at its base (link). Schools of fish running from the Gulf of Mexico into the coastal bays pass through here.

Port Aransas Jetty

Small black drum caught from the jetty

The 87-foot U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead (below) patrols the Texas coast and the border with Mexico. Its mission is law and treaty enforcement, fisheries patrol and border security (link).

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead heading into the Gulf of Mexico 

Green sea turtles occur worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Except when migrating, they prefer shallow waters inside reefs, bays and inlets where they feed on seagrasses and marine algae. The South Atlantic population is listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as threatened and the breeding colony in South Florida is listed as endangered (link). We saw green sea turtles foraging on the submerged rocks of the Aransas Jetty on every visit. 

Green sea turtle foraging for algae

Sign on a fishing pier showing how to rescue a sea turtle caught on hook-and-line

Boats of all kinds can be seen in the Coastal Bend; here are two examples from the ends of the recreational spectrum.

Viking sportfisher returning to Rockport

Duck hunters returning to Lamar on an airboat

In the next and last post on our time in the Coastal Bend, we'll jump in a kayak and explore some of the bays and passes.