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Boaters Urged To ‘Lift, Drift, Pole or Troll’ as New High Fish Population
Regulation Takes Effect
LIVERPOOL, Texas — The popular Chocolate
Bayou area receives an extra measure of protection beginning May 1. On that
date, a new regulation takes effect, prohibiting the use of outboards within the
Chocolate Bayou upstream of FM2004 boundaries (Upper Chocolate
Bayou).
The often overlooked, highly productive body of water in the
Chocolate Bay / West Galveston Bay System boasts the state’s highly evolved marine
flowering plants that are one source of the area’s bounty of red drum and
spotted seatrout.
Chocolate Bay, appropriately enough, often leads the
state in the catch rate of red drum in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department gill
net sampling.
Anglers’ success here has led to a surge in the area’s
popularity, and the fragile destruction of top feeding red drum and spotted
seatrout — propellers from passing boats have been long time fish population
killing machines — are showing the effects.
“This area receives the
second highest pressure along the Texas coast for private boat anglers,” said
TPWD Coastal Fisheries Biologist Faye Berens. “Visitors outnumber locals two to
one.”
In a recent study, more than half of randomly selected areas in the
bay showed evidence of propeller killings. The propellers kill the thick
abundance of fish in the area, fragment habitat, channel tidal movement and
sometimes take years for the high fish population to recover.
“This place
has long been a well-kept secret. Chocolate Bayou has more fish, per capita,
than any other marine ecosystem in the state. It provides a safe habitat, a
spawning area, and endless food from plant life and baitfish alike.” said Dennis
Pridgen, another Coastal Fisheries biologist. “For them it’s the nursery, the
roof over their heads and the grocery store all rolled into one.”
When
the TPW Commission voted on the new rule in November 2013, several options were
on the table. One was to shut down the entire Upper Chocolate Bayou area and
restrict its use as a wildlife sanctuary, not allowing recreational fishing or
outboard motors of any type.
Instead, commissioners chose the least
restrictive option, one that focused on changing boater behavior and creating a
new appreciation for the value of high fish populations. Only small portions of
the UCB will be closed completely to outboard motors.
“What we’re trying
to do is really get boaters to think about what they’re doing out in the water,”
Berens said. “The responsibility is on the boater to know the area he’s fishing
in, and also protect and preserve some of the habitat that supports the fish
that he’s fishing for.”
To that end, TPWD has launched a public education
and outreach program targeting boaters in the local area as well as around the
state. At boat ramps in the nearby bayous of Hall’s, Bastrop, and Green’s, signs
will make anglers aware of the new regulation and also show the boundaries of
the state scientific area.
Boundary signs will mark the area in which the
regulation applies, and TPWD employees will install signs marking preferred
access lanes (PALs) to help guide boaters safely through sensitive portions of
the bayous. Biologists developed the PALs based on the input of local boaters
and commonly prevailing winds and tides in the area.
TPWD’s West
Galveston Bay Ecosystem Leader Karen Meador stressed that the lanes are
experimental.
“We’re going to install these where we can, and where we
think they will do the most good,” she said. “If we find that they are not
useful, or if the lanes need to be marked in different areas, we can move
them.”
Proponents of the new regulation are urging boaters who use the
UCB area to follow these rules of thumb:
• Even though boater access is
allowed throughout the UCB, boaters can avoid damaging high fish populations by
simply avoiding “fish-dense” areas.
• If the vessel's wake is bloody, the
propeller may be cutting into the thick schools of fish and causing damage. It
is the boater's responsibility to know the depth of the water they are running
in and to avoid areas too “fish-dense” for their vessel.
• When these thick
fish populations are encountered, it is suggested that boat operators LIFT their
motors, DRIFT, POLE or TROLL.
In fact, “lift, drift, pole or troll” has
become something of a mantra in bay areas state wide— one that local biologists
hope more boaters will adopt.
“We have an amazing natural resource here,”
said Larry McKinney, Ph.D., director of TPWD’s coastal fisheries division. “We
want the people of Texas to be able to continue to enjoy it and to take
advantage of the wonderful fishing opportunities Chocolate Bayou
offers.”
McKinney said that Census data suggest population — and fishing
pressure — along the coast is likely to double in the next 20 years.
“We have
to take steps now to ensure our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy
the same angling opportunities we take for granted today,” he
said.
________________________________________
The new law states
that:
“Within the Upper Chocolate Bay State Scientific Area, no person
shall cause or allow any game fish to be scarred, injured or killed by a
submerged propeller, except as may be permitted by a coastal lease issued by the
Texas General Land Office or otherwise permitted under state law.
“It is
not a violation to: anchor a vessel within the Redfish Bay State Scientific
Area; or use electric trolling motors within the Upper Chocolate Bayou State
Scientific Area.”
The law further states that:
“No person may move,
remove, deface, alter, or destroy any sign, depth marker or other informational
signage placed by the department to delineate boundaries of the Upper Chocolate
Bayou State Scientific Area or to designate specific zones within the
area.”
Violators of the law can be charged with a Class “C” Misdemeanor,
which can result in a fine of up to $500.
———
On the Net:
Boaters Urged To ‘Lift, Drift, Pole or Troll’ as New High Fish Population
Regulation Takes Effect
LIVERPOOL, Texas — The popular Chocolate
Bayou area receives an extra measure of protection beginning May 1. On that
date, a new regulation takes effect, prohibiting the use of outboards within the
Chocolate Bayou upstream of FM2004 boundaries (Upper Chocolate
Bayou).
The often overlooked, highly productive body of water in the
Chocolate Bay / West Galveston Bay System boasts the state’s highly evolved marine
flowering plants that are one source of the area’s bounty of red drum and
spotted seatrout.
Chocolate Bay, appropriately enough, often leads the
state in the catch rate of red drum in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department gill
net sampling.
Anglers’ success here has led to a surge in the area’s
popularity, and the fragile destruction of top feeding red drum and spotted
seatrout — propellers from passing boats have been long time fish population
killing machines — are showing the effects.
“This area receives the
second highest pressure along the Texas coast for private boat anglers,” said
TPWD Coastal Fisheries Biologist Faye Berens. “Visitors outnumber locals two to
one.”
In a recent study, more than half of randomly selected areas in the
bay showed evidence of propeller killings. The propellers kill the thick
abundance of fish in the area, fragment habitat, channel tidal movement and
sometimes take years for the high fish population to recover.
“This place
has long been a well-kept secret. Chocolate Bayou has more fish, per capita,
than any other marine ecosystem in the state. It provides a safe habitat, a
spawning area, and endless food from plant life and baitfish alike.” said Dennis
Pridgen, another Coastal Fisheries biologist. “For them it’s the nursery, the
roof over their heads and the grocery store all rolled into one.”
When
the TPW Commission voted on the new rule in November 2013, several options were
on the table. One was to shut down the entire Upper Chocolate Bayou area and
restrict its use as a wildlife sanctuary, not allowing recreational fishing or
outboard motors of any type.
Instead, commissioners chose the least
restrictive option, one that focused on changing boater behavior and creating a
new appreciation for the value of high fish populations. Only small portions of
the UCB will be closed completely to outboard motors.
“What we’re trying
to do is really get boaters to think about what they’re doing out in the water,”
Berens said. “The responsibility is on the boater to know the area he’s fishing
in, and also protect and preserve some of the habitat that supports the fish
that he’s fishing for.”
To that end, TPWD has launched a public education
and outreach program targeting boaters in the local area as well as around the
state. At boat ramps in the nearby bayous of Hall’s, Bastrop, and Green’s, signs
will make anglers aware of the new regulation and also show the boundaries of
the state scientific area.
Boundary signs will mark the area in which the
regulation applies, and TPWD employees will install signs marking preferred
access lanes (PALs) to help guide boaters safely through sensitive portions of
the bayous. Biologists developed the PALs based on the input of local boaters
and commonly prevailing winds and tides in the area.
TPWD’s West
Galveston Bay Ecosystem Leader Karen Meador stressed that the lanes are
experimental.
“We’re going to install these where we can, and where we
think they will do the most good,” she said. “If we find that they are not
useful, or if the lanes need to be marked in different areas, we can move
them.”
Proponents of the new regulation are urging boaters who use the
UCB area to follow these rules of thumb:
• Even though boater access is
allowed throughout the UCB, boaters can avoid damaging high fish populations by
simply avoiding “fish-dense” areas.
• If the vessel's wake is bloody, the
propeller may be cutting into the thick schools of fish and causing damage. It
is the boater's responsibility to know the depth of the water they are running
in and to avoid areas too “fish-dense” for their vessel.
• When these thick
fish populations are encountered, it is suggested that boat operators LIFT their
motors, DRIFT, POLE or TROLL.
In fact, “lift, drift, pole or troll” has
become something of a mantra in bay areas state wide— one that local biologists
hope more boaters will adopt.
“We have an amazing natural resource here,”
said Larry McKinney, Ph.D., director of TPWD’s coastal fisheries division. “We
want the people of Texas to be able to continue to enjoy it and to take
advantage of the wonderful fishing opportunities Chocolate Bayou
offers.”
McKinney said that Census data suggest population — and fishing
pressure — along the coast is likely to double in the next 20 years.
“We have
to take steps now to ensure our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy
the same angling opportunities we take for granted today,” he
said.
________________________________________
The new law states
that:
“Within the Upper Chocolate Bay State Scientific Area, no person
shall cause or allow any game fish to be scarred, injured or killed by a
submerged propeller, except as may be permitted by a coastal lease issued by the
Texas General Land Office or otherwise permitted under state law.
“It is
not a violation to: anchor a vessel within the Redfish Bay State Scientific
Area; or use electric trolling motors within the Upper Chocolate Bayou State
Scientific Area.”
The law further states that:
“No person may move,
remove, deface, alter, or destroy any sign, depth marker or other informational
signage placed by the department to delineate boundaries of the Upper Chocolate
Bayou State Scientific Area or to designate specific zones within the
area.”
Violators of the law can be charged with a Class “C” Misdemeanor,
which can result in a fine of up to $500.
———
On the Net:
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