Sea Grass and Redfish BayIt has been like waiting for Christmas. It has been like watching paint dry. It has had all the entertainment value of watching water drip. Yes folks, I'm referring to the positively Byzantine political maneuvering that has absorbed no one's attention but a
select few over the last year in regard to the Sea Grass issue in Redfish Bay. We have a few people to thank for this. They are: Tom and Conni Hall, Mike Nugent and Mike O'Dell. These four, and others, but primarily these four people did whatever it took to keep Texas Parks and Wildlife on
the straight and narrow path with the Sea Grass issue. They made the telephone calls, scrambled to drive to Austin when gas was #3.00 per gallon, and no one at TP&W has bothered to inform them of a meeting that was occurring the next day, they stood up to TP&W while dragging an apathetic and reluctant membership along with
them. Every guide should realize that these people and their organizations, the Coastal Bend Guides Association and the Port Aransas Boatmen, prevented the Texas Parks and Wildlife department from punishing you financially for something that guides are not guilty of. This whole mess came about
because ignorant boaters continue to prop scar the flats of Redfish Bay. Thanks to these leaders you can still fish in Redfish Bay if you are an informed and responsible fisherman. So think about this the next time you're out fishing. And if you see any of these people, you might thank them.
The Real Culprits
The real culprits in the sea grass melodrama are those uninformed, careless, and ignorant boaters who frequent Redfish Bay. The Coastal Bend Guides Association and the Port Aransas Boatmen did get the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept to agree to some vague action regarding boater education. Education and
Enforcement are the key issues now that the basic issue has been resolved. And just what is TP&W going to do about that. Well, the answer is nothing specific. It appears that there is some money in the department's budget for boater education, but what form it will take is anybody's guess.
Enforcement is an issue that is problematic, at best. Unless the guides organizations along the Coastal Bend stay in TP&W's face about this, then the whole issue is going to be revisited again in five years. By that time, the bay will have sustained such a level of damage that no amount of reasoning
will persuade TP&W not to close the bay. With regret, we think that the final showdown on prop scarring in Redfish Bay has been merely postponed - not solved.
The Year in Review
The year 2005 started off pretty good. Everyone felt that the country was coming out of the economic doldrums of the last few years, and that guides would have a good season. Indeed it started out that way. March and April were very good months for most guides. But then came increasing gas
prices. Then came Hurricane Katrina, and then Rita. Also during this time, many guides, and their organizations, were having to fight a running skirmish with Texas Parks and Wildlife over prop scarring in Redfish Bay. By October, things were pretty much back to normal, but the fishing season was just about over. Yet, it could have been worse. Katrina could have hit the upper Gulf Coast along Texas, Rita could have hit the Coastal Bend. TP&W could have effectively closed Redfish Bay. Gas prices could have gone higher and stayed higher for longer than they did. So, it was a bad year, but it could have
been a lot worse. |
