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Bad news in west bay!!!!!

111K views 187 replies 75 participants last post by  JimG 
#1 ·
I found a dredge working the intracoastal waterway last week, west of Carancahua Point. That in itself wouldn't be such an issue, but the Corps of Engineers is pumping the dredge material over the existing spoil islands onto the bay side. I mentioned this to a few friends, after noticing that they have already moved the dredge to a second spot. They are pumping all of the dredge material directly on top of the grass flats that have taken years to grow. The first area that they have dumped is covered with silty mud along with some hard areas for several hundred yards. The first dump site, on the day that I was out, had an area that was previously grass covered and averaging about a foot deep. That area now has a dry land patch that is over 100 yards wide and extending nearly that far out into the bay across the flat.

I mentioned this to Captain Trim, who had the opportunity to go out with Marcos Enriquez. They took numerous pictures of the areas where the dumping is going on, along with a short video. The dredge was moved to a 3rd dumping location when they late last week. This process moves very fast, I believe this has all happened within the span of about 2 weeks. They started on the last existing spoil west of Carancahua Point and are working their way back to the east. From all indications from the Corps, they will be dredging all the way east to Louisanna.

This is something of a call for help. Captain Trim has been calling all over to find some help for our bay and running into a ton of road blocks. If anyone has any information that will help in re-directing the Corps of Engineers to another solution to the current dumping plan, please post up. James has a date with a photographer and reporter for Wednesday, so if all goes well there will be some publicity about this. He is trying to reach the US Game and Fisheries division. If this proves to be effective, I will post contact, so that the angling voice can be heard.

I have attached a short video that they shot last week of the active dredge dumping. This video doesn't show the extent of the damage, but it is significant.

 
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#4 ·
I just sent this link to Robin Riechers the Director of Coastal Fisheries at TPWD and asked if this is permitted and or legal. I am sure he will let us know soon.

Jim Smarr
Recreational Fishing Alliance-Texas
joinrfa.org
361-463-1558
 
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#8 ·
This is worse than prop scarring!You not only have grass up there but oysters as well.I think we need a occupy west bay shoreline movement.Some of us have noticed over the last few years the grass has made a comeback over there.TP&W i know your on here!
 
#9 ·
Steve,

Let us know anything you find out.. This is absolutely the WORST thing that could happen for upper west bay. That grass has been taking hold and expanding rapidly over the last few years and this will completely kill that entire area if its allowed to happen.

If anyone has numbers to call, post them up. We need an all out assault on this to get it stopped NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#10 ·
I have sent an e-mail to Emily with Galveston Bay Foundation and contacted Shannon Tompkins & Joe Kent. Glad someone got on the horn to TPWD.

I was over there this weekend and it's shoaled in good in some areas. The grass had really started to come back in the area & Oyster reefs line the western shoreline at the bend where the dump site was.
 
#19 ·
This is a disaster!! That is the most beautiful spot in the Galveston Bay complex, and someone is killing it?!?!

What can we do? Post up some phone numbers if you have any, I'll start working the phones and emails too...
 
#21 ·
They did the same thing down here in the ULM about 7 or 8 years ago. The dredge was working south of the JFK and ran a pipe accross the spoil islands into Nighthawk Bay at different intervals. Then they pumped the dredge material into Nighthawk Bay. It took a couple of years for the grass to come back, but now you would never know it happened. I've caught lots of reds wading those areas since then.

I am pretty sure the dredge operators have the proper permits to dump in those areas before they get started.
 
#22 ·
Dredging

I will be on the phone this morning to see if this can be stopped and find an alternative dumping site.

There is nothing illegal going on here as this is a permitted dredge disposal site and has been for a long time. The difference is that the last time the ICW was dredged in that area there were no grass beds. Not defending the Corp here, they may have not been aware of the grass beds and I am not sure they do any type of impact studies on pre designated spoil sites.

The best thing any of you can do at this point is to bombard some of the agencies list in this thread with phone calls. The GLO, TP&WD, Galveston Bay Foundation, Corp of Engineers in Galveston and the local media.

Thanks Capt. Steve and capt. Trim for bringing this to our attention. It's been about a month since I was last that way and at that time the dredge was between Chocolate and Cow Bayou.

Gater
 
#24 ·
"This is the WORST thing that could happen to west bay" "This is a disaster"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA This sounds like a stump hugging fourm. Give the trout another muddy bottom to lay up in in the winter. Is there a PETA for grass and oysters???

And no im am not with the dreging company nor do i have anything to do with whats going on.
 
#25 ·
"This is the WORST thing that could happen to west bay" "This is a disaster"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA This sounds like a stump hugging fourm. Give the trout another muddy bottom to lay up in in the winter. Is there a PETA for grass and oysters???

And no im am not with the dreging company nor do i have anything to do with whats going on.
You're an IDIOT. Take your sorry arse to some other website. You are not welcome here moroon.

That word is probably too big for you. Here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Moroon
 
#26 ·
I am in the Marine engineering Group for a large company. I work with dredging issues/permits every day. They should have never been issued a permit for disturbing a Seagrass area. Once the truth is know, I'm sure that spoil barges were to be used. This is policy in the USA and as well as Australia. They are taking the cheap rout and hoping nobody is watching.

They think that if they do get caught, the fine will far less than the use of spoil collecting and dumping in a designated sight.

Where are all the Lawyers when we need one????????
 
#27 ·
Maybe not so bad

Hello all, I am Sea Aggies 35, new to this site so I am posting on Jewfish for now. This subject caught my attention as I just sat through a discussion on exactly this topic through Texas A & M in Galveston.
The dredging may be an attempt to restore the bay and or surrounding wetlands by the beneficial use of dredged material (BUD). This process has been used in areas in and around Jamaica beach to slow the erosion process and re-establish these estuaries. At first it looks horrible but in the end these "birds Mounds" ( which is what it sounds like they are creating), will be replanted. These areas generally will be blocked off by geo textile tubes in order to act as a breakwater and allow the new area to mature and grow. They have proven very beneficial thus far and many are now excellant fishing areas. The bays and estuaries are vital to not only for our fish populations, but for water quality, coastal processes, and for the vast amount of other animals that depend on these areas. Rebuilding these areas is of great importance. Give it time and I think you will see the long term benefits will greatly out weigh the short term disruption.
 
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