Oystermen from Calhoun County travel to Austin to protest oyster bay closures
"We went to ask for them to continue to work on the situation, and come up with better ideas on their traffic light systems, and just work with us on how we can benefit the bays on how we can work and make a living doing this," says Briceño.
Oystermen from Calhoun County travel to Austin to protest oyster bay closures
CALHOUN COUNTY, Texas – A group of those involved with the oystering business took a bus out of Calhoun County to Austin to attend the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public meeting on the closure of oyster bays, something that dramatically affects those who make a living off the oyster business.
Veronica Briceño is involved in the business and says that she’s hoping the meeting with TPWD will yield a favorable result for both parties.
“We went to ask for them to continue to work on the situation, and come up with better ideas on their traffic light systems, and just work with us on how we can benefit the bays on how we can work and make a living doing this,” says Briceño.
The bays that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering closing are the Mesquite, Ayres, and Carlos bays. At this time they’ve tabled that decision and have a working group, bringing in those involved in the business such as oystermen to help offer guidance on this decision to close or open bays, but Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ultimately has the final say on whether the bays are opened or closed.
The bays open back up for the oystermen on November 1, then 20 days into the season the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will do sampling and testing to see where the oyster populations stand and make a decision from there.
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