Major Expansion of Port Mansfield Reef Underway

CCA Texas joins effort to expand fishing opportunities at existing reef

Recreational fishermen in the nearshore waters off the coast of Port Mansfield will have almost five times the amount of habitat to fish within eight miles of the Port Mansfield Jetties after a major infusion of hard structure this week. CCA Texas's habitat program, Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT) teamed up with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's (TPWD) Artificial Reef Program and Alamo Concrete Products to further enhance the existing Port Mansfield nearshore reef with more than 4,000 concrete culverts.

This is a huge project for Texas anglers. It will take ten days of work around the clock to move 4,000 culverts so we are talking about creating a significant amount of new habitat out there that will be within easy reach of recreational anglers, commented HTFT Committee chairman Jay Gardner. You can't just snap your fingers and pull together a habitat effort on a scale like this it takes time, money and commitment. We can't give enough credit to our partners at TPWD and Alamo Concrete Products. CCA Texas is proud to be able to do our part to bring this project to completion and we look forward to tackling many more.

CCA Texas contributed $50,000 toward the total cost of about $537,000 to expand the existing reef, which already held an old tug boat and about 800 culverts. The expanded reef will provide additional habitat for many species of fish and marine life, including red snapper. The Port Mansfield reef is the second major reefing project undertaken by HTFT. In August 2010, more than 250 tons of concrete and granite splashed down on the Vancouver reef site off the coast of Freeport, and a new reefing project is planned for a third site off the coast between Matagorda and Sargent. To date, CCA Texas has committed more than $200,000 to nearshore reefing in Texas waters.

Port Mansfield is a popular destination for many Texas anglers and for our winter Texans who come down every year to enjoy our warm weather. Our economy benefits a great deal from the quality fisheries that we have to offer, and projects like this help ensure that we will have them in the future, said Matt Klostermann, president of the CCA Texas Rio Grande Valley Chapter. Anglers are the driving force behind our efforts as a chapter to raise funds for these kinds of habitat projects that ultimately benefit conservation. We find tremendous satisfaction from being a proactive part of the solution.

The states Artificial Reefing Programs nearshore and public reefing portion has been in existence since 2006 and aims to establish a 160-acre site at each major port in Texas. Sites currently exist at Port Isabel, Port Mansfield, Packery Channel, Port Aransas (2), Matagorda and Freeport. These nearshore sites, located in Texas state waters, allow the general public to place reefing materials within those areas, as long as those efforts conform to the guidelines of the program and have prior approval from the state.

This is the largest reefing effort TPWD has conducted at a nearshore reef. Our contractor, Cajun Maritime LLC from Louisiana, has done an outstanding job in moving over 4,000 concrete culverts to the reef site, said Dale Shively, TPWDs Artificial Reef Program Coordinator. This project represents another effort through the partnership of TPWD and CCA Texas to enhance marine habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, making better fishing opportunities available to all.

To find the acres of new fishing opportunity, plug the following coordinates into your GPS: [WGS 84 format for GPS units] N 26^o 31.535 - W 97^o 09.215

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