Texas Great Barrier Reef Project
Click here to view a letter by Daniel Bulla to USACOE in support of the TGBR Project.
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Click here to enter the Texas Gulf Coast Stewards Website
Click here to view
Texas Great Barrier Reef Project up for comment
Click here to view TGBR article in Jan 07 issue of Saltwater Sportsman Magazine
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Due to the fact that our federal fishery managers are looking to reduce the recreational Red Snapper bag limit in federal water to 2 fish per person, we are looking to promote fishing for this species in Texas State waters. The Texas Great Barrier Reef ® (TGBR ®) project is a Public / Private program, conceived and spearheaded by RFA / TEXAS. This project is dedicated to the construction of an artificial reefing corridor spanning the entire length of Texas Coast, positioned in State Waters from 7.5 to 8.5 miles off of the beach. The TGBRP will extend from Port Isabel to Sabine Pass, and be divided into 5 segments to avoid conflict with shipping lanes. Thousands of artificial reefs per year will be deployed in an effort to provide Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for Red Snapper and a multitude of other sport fish species important to our coastal economies.
To achieve this end RFA / TEXAS is sponsoring fund raising events and raising public awareness of the need for this project, Texas Gulf Coast Stewards Inc. ®, a separate corporation under I.R.S. Chapter 501 (c) (3) has been formed for the purposes of permit holding, funding facilitation, and insulation of RFA from liability regarding the project. The I.R.S. tax exempt status will allow tax deductible donations to the project from non - industry related entities and individuals.
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MISSION STATEMENT
We believe that more needs
to be done to provide suitable habitat for the many species of fish found
offshore of Texas. The natural bottom topography offshore of Texas is a
predominately flat, featureless sand/mud bottom which would benefit greatly from
an artificial reefing program. More than 4,000 oil and gas platforms are
scheduled to be removed from the Gulf in the next 10 years which will devastate
the fish communities depending on those structures for survival. We have been
taking from the resource for years now without replenishing. NOW is the
time to plant the seeds for the future.
Our goal is to raise $400 million over the next 20 years and deploy nearly 400,000
reef units off the Texas coast! This will be accomplished through public
funding sources as well as private donations. The Texas Great Barrier Reef
Project ® is without a doubt the single most important
fisheries conservation
endeavor in our nations history. The reef deployments will be done
in two Phases;
Phase One: Establish a 1 mile wide reefing corridor located inside the 9-mile
line along the ENTIRE Texas coast (excluding shipping corridors, pipelines,
etc.) from Port Isabel to Sabine Pass (approx. 300 square miles). This is a
concept of bringing the fish to the fishermen, since the reefs being situated
inside state waters will be in close proximity to the shoreline. The many
benefits include notable fuel savings due to a multitude of close-in fishing
spots within safe and easy range of the "mosquito fleet" of small boats. In
addition to access to the year around red snapper fishing allowed in state
waters. This will provide a "trolling corridor" which will attract other species
such as tarpon, king mackerel, dorado, and other pelagics, resulting in
increased fisherman participation in the sport. This will energizing coastal
community economies along the entire Texas coast (currently a $8 billion/year
industry). With a relatively small investment of $400 million, we feel that we
can save this valuable resource.
Phase Two: We want to work with Texas Parks and Wildlife, the US Corp of
Engineers, and the Coast Guard in developing additional larger reefing areas in
federal waters which will allow greater freedom in reef placement and
variety in depth. Currently Alabama enjoys reef permit zones encompassing
approximately 1,260 square miles, and that's with a coastline of only 40 miles!
Texas has a coastline of more than 350 miles - a comparable reef permit area
based on coastlines would be over 11,000 square miles here off of the Texas
coast!
We intend to make Texas the envy of the world as the leader in fisheries enhancement by providing crucial marine habitat to a previously barren region.
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Texas Gulf Coast
Stewards website
Click Here to Join RFA / TEXAS