CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — This weekend the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is closing a section of our local waters, and will no longer allow oyster harvesting.
The area known as TX-32, which is just west of Rockport in Copano Bay, will be closed to oyster harvesting beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning.
The reason? Not enough legal-sized oysters – in this case, those that are three inches or greater.
Game Warden Lerrin Johnson said part of the problem is too much fresh-water runoff disturbing the saltwater that oysters thrive in.
"Our biologists had done sampling beforehand and found that due to all of the heavy rains and the freshwater runoff up and down the coast, a lot of our oyster reefs have just died, flat-out died," Johnson said.
Since smaller oysters typically attach themselves to the larger ones, it is important to keep the larger ones in good supply.
But beyond that, there is a much bigger environmental impact to consider.
"Oysters, the way they filter bacteria, mud and all of that out of our bay systems and keep our waters clear, and our nursery habitats for our fish to spawn and grow," Johnson said. "Oysters are very vital to our bay system."
Although it could take several years before that section of the bay is reopened to oyster harvesting, Dr. Jennifer Pollack at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Harte Research Institute says the shutdown is necessary.
"Oysters are such an iconic species for Texas, right? Beyond just wanting to eat oysters, there are all of these other things that we know now that oysters do for us along the coast. We want to conserve all of those benefits," Pollack said.
A good move for the environment so many are fighting to preserve along our Texas Gulf Coast.
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