Texans have been busy winterizing facilities, businesses, and residences and otherwise managing a record of sub-freezing days, but the biggest natural resource impact so far appears to be fisheries along the Texas Gulf coast. Texas has about two million acres of bays and estuaries susceptible to freezes. There were three major freezes during the 1980s, including one in 1989 when the temperature at Brownsville dropped to 16 degrees and an estimated 11 million fish were killed.
This week, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) issued a news release asking saltwater anglers to voluntarily help protect red drum, spotted seatrout, snook and other aquatic resources, including flounder. The release said “in addition to killing game fish in shallow bay waters, a hard freeze can also cause surviving fish to congregate in a few deeper areas where they become sluggish and prone to capture” and asked anglers to avoid catching fish populations in these natural refuge areas. Continue reading Record Cold Weather Impacts Texas Coast