Tag Archives: San Antonio Bay
How an Unlucky Texas Fisherman Stumbled Upon an Environmental Catastrophe
Five years before a pair of bullets tore through his gut and heart, Billy Joe Aplin reached over the silt-smeared water of the tidal flats with a boat hook to snare a small buoy bobbing near the grassy shoreline. As he pulled it toward his skiff, the rope gathered in soggy coils by his white rubber boots. Billy Joe was a bear of a man, six feet with broad shoulders, strong nose, square jaw, and jet-black hair. Their skiff drifted calmly at the mouth of the Guadalupe River in San Antonio Bay, their favorite spot to lay traps. His wife, Judy, lit a cigarette and took a long drag in the Texas heat. His ten-year-old daughter, Beth, was already perched on her culling stool, ready to sort the catch. Billy Joe Jr. and Cheryl Ann, only five and four, huddled close to their mom. Superstitious fishermen thought it was bad luck to bring a woman on a boat, but by 1975, Billy Joe had endured such a streak of bum luck that he couldn’t afford not to bring his family out with him: they were his deckhands. >click to read< 14:09
Fishermen protest Texas Parks and Wildlife for closure of oyster reefs
Texas fishermen from across the gulf coast region staged a public protest in front of the Texas Parks and Wildlife office, 2805 N. Navarro St. Wednesday afternoon. About 150 protesters were speaking out against the closure of Texas oyster reefs by Texas Parks and Wildlife. The reefs have been closed in Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay, San Antonio Bay, and Aransas Bay. Members of the “Save Texas Fishermen Coalition” say they were protesting because these reef closings have effectively ended most commercial oyster fishing in Texas. Photos, >click to read< 17:40
Cold fronts create shrimpy season – the current state of shrimping in San Antonio Bay. Video
This year’s brown shrimp production is below the historical average, according to scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Record low temperatures and a continued drought along the Gulf Coast of Texas and western Louisiana have caused the drop in shrimp production, according to a report released by the fisheries service last week. Video, Read more here 10:21
