Christmas oysters
Boat owners and environmentalists need state’s help to save a coastal preserve.
If you’re headed for the beach this weekend and you happen to drive along the Bluewater Highway just west of San Luis Pass, glance away from the waves washing in from the Gulf and behold the body of water on the other side of the road. Maybe you’ll see some egrets or a great blue heron wading around in Christmas Bay, one of the most pristine bays on the upper Texas coast.
What you won’t see is what lies under the water. This almost untouched area on the south side of the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is the last bay along our section of the Texas coast that still bears significant seagrass beds, which are home to shrimp, crabs and a variety of fish. But Christmas Bay is also home to beds of oysters, and that’s caused a problem state officials need to resolve.
To understand what’s gone wrong here you have to understand this area’s curious history. Christmas Bay was declared a coastal preserve back in 1991 and it was closed to shrimping. At the time nobody was commercially harvesting it for oysters, so maybe it’s no surprise the state didn’t bother specifically closing the bay to oystering. In 2000, the Texas Department of State Health Services closed Christmas Bay and the adjacent Drum Bay because they both registered high bacteria counts. The state reopened the bays two years ago, but it seems oyster companies didn’t know about it until last February. When word spread, oyster boats from all over Texas rushed in to scoop up the huge oysters that thrived there unharvested during the years the bays were closed.
That’s when the trouble started. Some of the boat owners who either didn’t know or didn’t care about the bays’ environmental importance started driving all-terrain-vehicles and stacking heavy sacks of oysters on rookery islands, which chased birds away and probably crushed eggs lying in nests. People who live and fish in the area griped that their boat landings were crowded with commercial boat trailers. But worst of all, the great oyster rush was damaging Christmas Bay’s beds of seagrass, eroding the shoreline and doing damage that could last for years.
What happened next is heartening. When environmentalists spread the word about the problems oyster boats were causing — and pointed out that damaging the seagrass was illegal — many of those commercial operations decided they should stop harvesting in the area. What’s more, some of the business owners joined environmentalists in signing a petition asking the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to permanently close the bay to oyster harvesting.
Environmentalists who’ve watched the damage done during the past few months say Christmas Bay can’t take this kind of abuse year after year. Many of the commercial oyster operations that have profited from the bay agree. In a praiseworthy show of solidarity between environmental and commercial interests, that petition is signed by officials from five conservation groups and a half-dozen oyster businesses.
The people who live and work in this bay area know it better than anybody. They agree there’s a problem and they agree on a solution. All they need is for state parks officials to back them up.
The oyster season ends April 30, so it’s nearly over for this year. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission should see to it that this is the last year oysters are harvested from Christmas Bay.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission should see to it that this is the last year oysters are harvested from Christmas Bay.