Mike Sharp and Carl Ray of Port O’Connor CCA collect abandoned crab traps on February 22.
Annual Closure and Removal held February 21 – March 2, 2014
Crab traps left unattended in the bays are virtual killing machines. A fish or crab or other aquatic animal gets into the trap and dies, then another fish or crab goes into the trap, eats the dead and then dies to provide food for the next one or more. So it goes, on and on.
We have found very old and beat up traps with as many and six stone crabs captured and dying. The cleanup guys and girls who bring their boats to scour the bay systems near Port O’Connor are CCA members from POC, Victoria, and other areas of the state, and other conservation minded fisher-folks. TP&W employees help with unloading the boats and providing dumpsters to haul off the traps.
This year + – 56 traps were collected at the TP&W compound in POC and a few more by Preston Luster and others down at Charlie’s at the end of The Lane near Seadrift. Mike Sharp and I (Carl Ray) retrieved 13 traps but Liz Hewitt and her helpers topped us out at 15 traps.
On the day for our consolidated removal efforts (February 22), CCA POC provided Bar-be-Que with cold slaw, all the other trimmings and “soft” drinks at the TP&W Compound.
Some of the conservation projects that POC CCA and other chapters of CCA Texas have contributed to are: opening Cedar Bayou to allow free water flow from the Gulf into Aransas and Mesquite bays; five near-shore artificial reefs (one near POC); three oyster reef restorations; shoreline protection; marsh restoration; debris removal from Aransas Pass and many other projects, as well as college scholarships.
The POC CCA holds it’s annual banquet at the Community Center where more than 300 folks gather to have a great time raising funds which help to promote conservation of our bays, the Gulf of Mexico and the fisheries that occupy those waters. We have five or six unscheduled meetings, with plenty of notice, each year in addition to our banquet. This year the banquet will be held on Saturday, October 18th. All are welcome.
Anyone interested in joining our organization may call the president, Bill Moore 361 983 4690 or vice-president Mike Sharp 361 983 4713 or Carl Ray 361 983 4252.
