Tag Archives: Texas
Coast Guard pulled 4 men from shrimp boat taking on water 11 miles south of Jamaica Beach, Texas
Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watchstanders received a notification at 1:20 a.m. from Coast Guard Station Galveston watchstanders reporting a 31-foot shrimp boat taking on water with three people aboard. Once on scene, the RB–M crew reported that the shrimp boat, the F/V Captain Alex, was 86 feet in length and had four people aboard. The shrimp boat, which reportedly sank, is reported to have a maximum potential of 17,000 gallons of diesel aboard. 5 photos, >click to read< 14:50
Texas Oyster Fishing at a ‘Crossroads’ – Parks and Wildlife has closed most of the state’s bays to commercial harvest.
Coast Guard medevacs Skipper from shrimp boat off Freeport, Texas
The Coast Guard medevaced a 60-year-old man from a shrimp boat Monday off Freeport, Texas. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watchstanders received a notification at 6 a.m. from the crew of the Barbara Elaine, an 81-foot shrimp boat, stating their captain was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. >click to read< 06:53
Three oyster bays closed may have a strong impact on the oyster industry
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners have voted to permanently close three bays to oyster fishing, and the closures have many Texas oystermen worried about what this means for their livelihoods. The unanimous vote comes after commissioners listened to hours of testimony against the closures from oyster fishermen. Parks and Wildlife shut down Carlos, Ayres, and Mesquite bays near Matagorda Island. TPWD says the decision to close the bays is to let the oysters grow, but oyster fishermen, like Johnny Jurisich, say the closures could hurt the oyster industry. >click to read<
Texas oyster season begins with severe restrictions for fishermen – The six-month Texas oyster season opened on Nov. 1 and Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners have voted to permanently close three bays near Matagorda Island to oyster fishing. >click to read< 08:53
Commercial fishermen sounding alarm about snapper stocks
If you had asked me five years ago if I was worried about red snapper populations in Texas, I would have said “no.” But I’m not that optimistic today. Fishery managers have gotten complacent, forgotten where we came from and have put self-interests above conservation and sustainability. Our fish stocks are in decline, our commercial fishing voices are being squashed and our fishery managers are playing politics with our livelihoods. We expect fair representation at the decision-making table. What do we have instead? Only one truly commercial fishing representative on the 17-member Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. >click to read< 10:52
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
When Vietnamese Fishermen Went to War With the Klan in Texas
A few nights before the start of the 1980 shrimping season in Texas, as a tropical storm pounded the gulf coast, a Justice Department mediator booked a room at a Holiday Inn near the fishing town of Seabrook, on the western edge of Galveston Bay. He was expecting two guests, each representing opposing sides of a turf war liable to explode into violence. His plan was to lock them inside until they brokered some kind of a treaty. Gene Fisher, the burly 35-year-old founder of the American Fishermen’s Association, arrived first. Fisher stiffened at the sound of someone rapping at the door of the Holiday Inn room: the second guest had arrived, the president of the Vietnamese Fishermen’s Association. Nam Văn Nguyễn was a highly-decorated South Vietnamese colonel. >click to read< 11:09
Joel Dejean: Turn the Tide Against the Texas Gulf Wind Farms
The Biden Administration announced last week that the first offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico will be positioned off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. The first selected area was described approvingly in the July 22 issue of The Texas Tribune by Mitchell Ferman. It is “24 nautical miles off the coast of Galveston, covering 546,645 acres, bigger than the city of Houston, with the potential to power 2.3 million homes, according to the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.” The other project, praised in Houston Chronicle headlines, will be near Port Arthur [Texas] covering 188,023 acres, 56 miles offshore, with power potential estimated at 799,000 homes. Public hearings are to start in August. Two issues come immediately to mind. First, in the description of both projects, the phrase ”potential to power” is used. The figures given represent 100% potential productive capacity, but the wind usually delivers only 30%, and often even less. >click to read< 11:25
Don’t Cage Our Oceans: Fish farming may threaten rare Gulf whale
The site approved for the Velella Epsilon fish farm in federal waters west of Venice is one of just three potential aquaculture opportunity areas under consideration off Florida’s Gulf coast. There are six others — three in the central Gulf south of Louisiana and Mississippi and three east of Texas — as well as 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. It’s part of a collusive effort between fish farming companies and the federal government to divide up national waters for profit, James Mitchell, legislative director of Don’t Cage Our Oceans, said. >click to read< 13:49
Vietnam Veteran, Commercial Fisherman Guadalupe G. Zamora has passed away
Guadalupe G. Zamora, a TX native, and U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran, entered eternal rest on July 27th at the age of 78 at his residence in Los Fresnos, TX. Guadalupe is an Army Veteran that served from 1967 to 1970. He was a heavy vehicle driver and attained the rank of Sergeant during the Vietnam War. He was very proud of his service to our nation, and we were very proud of him as well. Guadalupe Zamora was born in Brownsville on June 7, 1944 and raised in both Brownsville and Port Isabel. He grew up with 3 brothers and 5 sisters. He was a natural born carpenter, and one of his many projects included a large front porch of which he was very proud of and spent many afternoons at. He was a commercial fisherman and a Texas history buff, especially of the Alamo. >click to read< 09:48
Texas: Local shrimpers stay in the bays catching live bait
Local shrimpers spend their morning in the bays catching shrimp for live bait not for people to eat. “Since Gulf King is gone. Everything started going downhill,” said one local shrimp boat captain. Gulf King Seafood, once called Aransas Pass its home with the largest fleet of Gulf Coast shrimp boats in the United States. Over 20 years ago, Gulf King moved locations. Soon after local shrimpers followed trying to find more opportunities. Now the only place selling gulf shrimp in Aransas Pass is Erikson and Jensen Seafood. Right now, their fleet is stationed in Florida. Catching gulf shrimp from Florida to Texas. Video, >click to read< 09:23
Missing shrimper identified as La Feria resident
A missing shrimper last seen on South Padre Island has been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Vargas from La Feria. According to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard, Vargas fell from a shrimp trawler 35 miles off the coast of South Padre Island early Saturday morning. Vargas was last seen wearing a tank top and shorts. He was not wearing a life vest when he fell overboard. His aunt Leticia Vargas said it is uncertain what happened to Christopher. She said going offshore to catch shrimp was a traditional job for him. “This was his way of getting money for back to school, that’s what his wife was waiting for, that’s what the kids were waiting for, that’s what his intentions were for him to go out there, he’s been doing this for years,” she said. >Video, click to read< 07:00
U.S. Coast Guard: Search suspended for missing commercial fisherman off South Padre Island, Texas
The Coast Guard has suspended its search Sunday for a 35-year-old fisherman who went missing off South Padre Island, Texas, Saturday. Coast Guard crews searched approximately 1,903 square miles for over 32 combined hours. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a call at 5 a.m. Saturday on VHF-FM channel 16 from the master of the 65-foot commercial fishing vessel F/V Santa Fe stating one of his crew members was missing 35 miles offshore Land Cut. The man was reportedly not wearing a life jacket at the time of his disappearance. >click to read< 18:21
Coast Guard searching for missing commercial fisherman off South Padre Island, Texas
The Coast Guard is searching for a missing 35-year-old fisherman in the water off South Padre Island, Texas, Saturday. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a call at 5 a.m. on VHF-FM channel 16 from the master of the 65-foot commercial fishing vessel F/V Santa Fe stating one of his crew members was missing 35 miles offshore Land Cut. Missing is a 5-foot, 10-inch tall, 150-pound Latino male last seen wearing a tank top and shorts. The man was reportedly not wearing a life jacket. >click to read< 11:41
Shrimping industry facing historic challenges
Andrea Hance, executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association, headquartered at the Port of Brownsville, said in April that the high cost of fuel was preventing a lot of boats from going out. The price of fuel has fallen in recent weeks, though in a case of unfortunate timing some owners filled up before prices starting dropping, she said. With a typical fuel tank capacity of 15,000 to 20,000 gallons, 10 or 15 cents either way makes a big difference, said Hance, who owns two shrimp boats with her husband, Preston. One of the boats is in dock for repairs and the other was filled up at $4.40 a gallon of diesel — before it started coming down, she said. >click to read< 10:04
Texas: New shrimp season tangled up in regulations
That plate of fried shrimp people enjoy at a restaurant –whether locally or away from home – could either be taken off the menus or cost a lot more. The tastier Gulf shrimp caught by trawlers off the Texas Gulf Coast from the Brownsville/Port Isabel to the Palacios areas could also be replaced by farmed-raised crustaceans. That’s because this South Texas industry – one of the nation’s largest – is caught in the middle of a crisis caused by today’s U.S. immigration policies and by what is going on in countries south of Mexico. The expected arrival of hundreds of people who traditionally work on the boats, known as shrimp headers, is on halt right now; yet the kickoff of the 2022 season is about two weeks away. >click to read< 17:53
Potential aquaculture sites in Gulf of Mexico concern commercial fishermen
Capt. Casey Streeter’s crew is waist deep in the commercial icebox on its 36-foot Thompson boat. Ice is shoveled overboard, while fish are pulled from the ice into bins, some separated by size and others by species. Fishermen Greg Trammell and Jimmy Bergan just returned from being on the water for seven days. Bins and baskets full of fish filled to the rim as they offload their catch to be sold at Island Seafood Market in Matlacha. It is owned by Streeter and his wife, where they catch and sell their own fish. Streeter is a first-generation fisherman, fishing commercially for 10 years. Streeter’s livelihood relies on the health of marine ecosystems. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s search for aquaculture opportunity areas in the Gulf of Mexico, he fears the lifeline of his career may be at stake. >click to read< 09:35
Dog swims for several miles, finds way home after falling overboard of shrimp boat
Shrimp Boat Captain Keith “Kiwi” Soffes says his pup, Monster, never leaves his side. Monster even tags along on his shrimp boat for the daily runs out of San Leon, Texas. Last week, the loyal dog fell overboard while they were out in Galveston Bay. Soffes says he didn’t notice until they were already five miles out. He was beyond shocked and heartbroken. Video, >click to read< 11:31
Coast Guard Medevacs 67-year-old fishing vessel Captain from Matagorda Bay, Texas
The Coast Guard medevaced an injured man from Matagorda Bay, Texas, Thursday. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received notification at 4:17 p.m. from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office that the 67-year-old captain of the commercial fishing vessel F/V Master Ricky had reportedly been struck in the head by rigging block while working gear and was intermittently unconscious. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. >click to read < 21:40
High fuel prices have Texas shrimping industry at virtual standstill
The price of diesel is so high right now that many Texas shrimpers are struggling, not making money, fearing that they’ll lose their crews if they’re docked much longer. “The majority of the vessels in the gulf, I would imagine they’re either tied up at the dock right now or they’re headed back to the dock, because they’ve run out of the cheap fuel,” said Andrea Hance, executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association. “And it [fuel prices] jumps around every day. If you do the math on that, that comes out anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 just to fill up one of these boats for maybe a 60-day trip. We will not be able to make money on that.” Video, >click to read< 09:13
Inflation is affecting the fishing business in Brownsville, Texas
You probably know inflation is accelerating. Prices rose an average 8.5% in March compared to a year earlier, more than in February, January and so on. We’ll get to high – how higher fuel, transportation and food costs are affecting the country as a whole. But first, let’s begin with a close-up view in Brownsville, Texas. Here at the Port of Brownsville, it’s fairly quiet, except for the shorebirds. Most shrimp boats are stuck in port. Charles Burnell and his son Kyle run the Shrimp Outlet on Brownsville’s coastal edge. Earlier this week, one of their boats returned with $100,000 worth of shrimp, a slightly above average catch. But Kyle explains, the money had been essentially spent by the time it got back to the dock. >click to read< 09:12
Texas Tornado Takes Down Wind Turbines
The wind was too strong. Meteorologist Payton Malone shared a photo on social media that shows the impact a Texas tornado had on several wind turbines this week. As you can see here, the turbines were no match for winds that were estimated to be well over 130 mph. For the last couple of years, a hot debate on social media has been the use of wind turbines when it comes to producing energy. Many have already questioned what would happen to them if they were placed in the Gulf while a hurricane sweeps across it. Sorry, I don’t have the answer here. Video, >click to read< 11:22
A Last Stand for Texas Oyster Fishermen
People often ask if Frances and Johny Jurisich had an arranged marriage, the couple jokes. Both come from oyster fishing families that immigrated from the same small village in Croatia to Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, then west to Texas. In fact, Frances’ father, Misho Ivic, is Johny’s godfather, and the shucking house that Frances’ mother, Franka Ivic, founded in the unincorporated Galveston County area of San Leon is just 12 miles from the Jurisich dock in Texas City. The couple started dating in high school. They married in 2004 and today have three children. On the Jurisich side, Johny is part of the fourth generation to go into oyster fishing. He hopes his 5-year-old son will carry the tradition into a fifth generation. Their 15-year-old daughter has a good head for business, Frances said, and may also go into oysters, but only if the business stays profitable. It may well not. >click to read< 08:32
The Texas oyster industry is struggling as the state’s reefs close for harvesting
At Johny Jurisich’s family dock in Texas City, more than a dozen empty oyster boats with names like Sunshine and Captain Fox lazily float in the marina on a recent Monday morning, an odd sight for what is normally peak oyster harvesting season. Currently, 21 of the state’s 27 harvesting areas are closed, with three more areas set to close Tuesday. Alex Gutierrez, who owns a few oyster boats and has worked as an oyster fisherman for 35 years, said he usually hires between 10-15 people to work with him each season. But recently he’s been dipping into his savings and doesn’t think he’ll be able to afford the annual maintenance on his boats. >click to read< 08:31
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
Search suspended for Captain Michael Ramirez of F/V Lady Nora
The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing shrimp boat captain who fell overboard near Port Aransas, Texas, Sunday. Coast Guard crews searched approximately 1,416 square miles for over 32 combined hours. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a call on VHF-FM channel 16 at about 7 a.m. stating the Captain of the shrimp boat F/V Lady Nora had slipped and fallen overboard 7 miles northeast of the Port Aransas jetties. >click to read< 07:54
The search is on for overboard shrimp boat captain in the Gulf
The Coast Guard is searching for a 40-year-old man who fell overboard a commercial shrimping vessel near Port Aransas, Texas, Sunday. Missing is Michael Ramirez, who is 6-feet tall, 180 pounds and was last seen wearing a black jacket and boots. Ramirez was not wearing a life jacket. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a call on VHF-FM channel 16 at about 7 a.m. stating the captain of the shrimp boat F/V Lady Nora had slipped and fallen overboard 7 miles northeast of the Port Aransas jetties. >click to read< 14:30
Search suspended for missing for 94-year-old fisherman 90 miles offshore of Galveston, Texas
The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a missing fisherman 90 miles offshore Galveston, Texas, Monday. The fisherman departed on Nov.30, 2021, and was expected back Saturday. “Since Saturday, our Coast Guard crews, using all available assets, have been putting forth their best effort to find Mr. Marinic, working tirelessly and covering over 3,000 square miles during our search said Capt. Keith Donohue, “Mr. (Frank) Marinic is a well-known and experienced maritime worker and is also a pillar in the Galveston fishing community. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who know him, during this most difficult time. >click to read< 21:18
Coast Guard crews continue searching for 94-year-old fisherman missing off Galveston’s coast
A 94-year-old Galveston fisherman reportedly went missing off the coast of Galveston, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Sunday. Frank Marinic was last seen on his 34-foot white fishing boat named the “Mar Boa.” Officials located Marinic’s fishing vessel near the Claypile Bank, located 90 miles offshore, where rescue swimmers confirmed there was no one inside the vessel. video, >click to read< 07:20
Texas to Suspend Flounder Season as stocks continue to decline throughout the Gulf and South Atlantic
One of the most sought after saltwater fish on the Texas Coast will be off limits to commercial and sport fishermen starting Nov. 1. Citing negative trends and large scale declines in flounder populations over the past several decades, The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will suspend the year round flounder season during a six-week period ending on Dec. 15.,, The fish’s native range stretches from North Carolina southward into Mexico, and nearly all of the states in this coastal region are witnessing similar population declines. >click to read< 12:30
