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FOR A VAST MAJORITY of marine sportfish, the action is at the inlet. As vital conduits between spawning and nursery grounds, the benefits of these connections are certainly obvious to most fishermen. However, some of the most impor-
tant migrations are unseen, as myriads of tiny larvae composed of many dif- ferent species of fish and crustaceans move between the interior bays and open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These early life stages support our out- standing fishery populations, but most importantly they form the basis of the food web in estuarine ecosystems. Millions of pinky-nail sized larval and early juveniles such as redfish, floun- der, croaker, shrimp, crabs, and many others, ingress unobserved through MotherNature’s “hatchery pipeline.”
Access to high-quality habitats and spawning grounds via tidal inlets is essential for reproduction,
growth, survival and sustainability of
fisheries populations. Maintaining the
connection between
Gulf and bay waters is critical toward the suc- cess of future popula- tions of sportfish.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t
take much water to move these young animals. Even relatively small volumes can dramatically rejuvenate estuarine systems with new life. Following near- shore spawning in the Gulf of Mexico, larvae migrating through tidal inlets into shallow estuarine nursery grounds are looking for one thing — habitat. The bays and estuaries along the mid- dle Texas Coast provide a variety of beneficial habitats such as seagrasses, marshes and oyster reefs. These areas provide plentiful food supplies and protection from predators.
www.joincca.org TIDE
Rockport, Texas, and separates Matagorda and San Jose Islands.
Access to high-quality habitats and
spawning grounds via tidal inlets is essential for reproduction, growth, sur- vival and sustainability of fisheries populations. Tidal inlets play a direct role in fisheries productivity, and so understanding how fish use these passes and maintaining the connection between Gulf and bay waters is critical toward the success of future popula- tions of sportfish.
PARTNERSHIP PAYS DIVIDENDS Cedar Bayou is a natural tidal inlet
located near Rockport, Texas, and sep- arates Matagorda and San Jose Islands. The fisheries productivity in and around this inlet is legendary. The pass
Cedar Bayou is a natural tidal inlet located near
historically allowed water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and Mesquite Bay, but in 1979 the inlet was artificially closed to protect critical estuarine habitat from the Ixtoc Oil spill that occurred near Campeche, Mexico. At the time, it was the largest oil spill in the Gulf, and unfavorable southerly currents threatened to inun- date our bays and their valuable habi- tats with oil. While the inlet has been periodically
open due to hurricanes and dredging, flow through the Bayou has been typi- cally intermittent and either restricted or closed since 1979. A free-flowing Cedar Bayou would greatly benefit fish, birds, hunters, anglers, birders and the local economy, and its reopen- ing has been viewed as an environ- mental restoration project with a strong economic element. For years efforts to reopen the pass were stalled by bureaucratic and funding problems, but the long-running battle to permit the project came to an end when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finally gave Aransas County the go-ahead to dredge in the summer of 2011. Now, the most comprehensive effort
to date to restore the inlet and its asso- ciated slough is underway. With a total price tag of about $7 million, the chal- lenge now is funding the project, but a unique partnership between Aransas
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