Oyster Management: A Conservation Quandary

I have mentioned in this column several times the plight of Texas oysters. Unlike finfish and other species, the task of managing oysters is complicated by the fact that oysters cannot flee to escape poor habitat conditions – excessive salinity, fresh water inundation, algal blooms, etc. Neither are they capable of migrating to more favorable habitat when fishing pressure becomes disruptive to their feeding and spawning patterns. Oysters thrive best on reefs and other hard substrate upon which their larvae can attach and grow. Reefs form as successive generations join these communities, eventually adding their own shells, and thus the reef continues to expand and provide additional habitat for the next generation.

You’ve likely seen newscasts with commercial oystermen protesting TPWD’s most recent management efforts. I believe it’s safe to say we have just witnessed the shortest oyster harvest season ever in Texas’ major oyster-producing bays. The reasons are several, not the least of which are a succession of droughts, floods, and exceptional harvest pressure.

Oyster harvest in Texas is accomplished by dragging dredges along and across reefs. This method is known to break up the reefs, but under “normal” harvest activities the reef manages to reconstruct and sustain itself. However, that process is disrupted when dredging activity is great enough to completely flatten the vertical relief of the reef and scatter all the remaining shell, a situation that has reached critical mass in several mid-coast bays. The likelihood for the reefs to recover naturally is very dim and manmade reconstruction is prohibitively expensive in many cases.

The commercial oyster industry is caught in a quandary – whether to continue harvesting the way they always have, or listen to the science (TPWD and others) and allow the resource to recover. Oysters provide many benefits besides a food delicacy. The habitat they provide to finfish and a host of invertebrate species, along with redirection of currents and shoreline stabilization are chief among these. Even amid protests and threats of lawsuits, the majority of public opinion lies solidly on the side of conservation of this resource. The time has come for Texans to decide what we value most, healthy bays and vibrant fisheries or another dozen on the half shell. I therefore encourage all Texas anglers to call or write their local and state elected officials to enlist their support in further conserving this precious resource before it is too late.