Cold Weather means Oysters and fishing under the Lights on the Canals of Sargent and Caney Creek. This is that time of the year for the East Matagorda Bay Oyster reefs. Time to make some Gumbo and enjoy it.
Winter is the best time to harvest the reefs around Sargent Texas. These incredible East Matagorda Bay Oyster’s are some of the best tasting in the United States. Plump, fat, briny and just the right background salt-sweet that make them so prized. For the last few year they have been heavily harvested throughout our Bay System. This could be putting our small reefs and their structures at risk in East Matagorda Bay.
The East Matagorda Bay Oyster had been making a incredible comeback for the last few years. It had been suffering from a lack of freshwater inflow during the previous drought. Oysters hate water that is too salty. So for years before the culprit to their proliferation had been 4 years of intense drought. Drought sapped the freshwater flow into the bay. Back in the year 2014, Leslie Hartman Texas Department of Wildlife Leader for the East Matty’s Ecosystem. Leslie samples our bays yearly. She works for TDWD and told me, “A few years ago the Salinity in parts of the Bay where higher than the Gulf of Mexico.” The Oyster’s were suffering from high Salinity. This really stunted the growth of the reefs for a few year. Since then it is recovering.
East Matagorda Bay Oysters
That was 3 years ago. Now maybe this Oyster on East Matagorda Bay reefs become too popular for its own good? Maybe because for the last 3 years after the drought it’s recovery has been hurt by being heavily harvesting of large oysters. But now unfortunately the last few seasons this has been diminishing the size of the large Oysters harvest of size of remaining Oysters . “Although the bay is open there are many small Oysters so it is difficult to dredge the reefs.” So Says Gina Gilbert of “Buddy’s Seafood” in Matagorda. “There are just lots of small Oysters in East Matagorda Bay.”
Buddy’s Sea Food in Matagorda
This intense harvesting for the last few season began a few years ago. Popular habitats to our North North in Louisiana had been ruined. There was the Horizon offshore Oil Spill. Even though it was years ago it hurt. Now these fishing areas are are slowly coming back online for harvesting. Louisiana had also suffered from Hurricane Katrina. This and the Oil spill created a big dependency on Galveston for replacement sourcing. Then came Ike the Hurricane. This hurt Galveston for a few years. In the meantime many Oyster Fisherman who didn’t fish this far south were invaded Christmas Bay and East Matagorda Bay looking for Big Oysters. Christmas Bay got so abused it was closed to Oyster Harvesting this year. Further impact on the areas has been caused by the Oyster Wars in Galveston over Oyster Leases and that has not helped. All of these impacts lead to intense harvesting. Very Intense.
East Matagorda freshwater inflow is not too strong but is very dependable. The major Oyster Beds in East Matagorda Bay are located about 8 miles south of Sargent and fan out from Live Oak Bay and Dressing point. This is the part of the Bay with the most natural consistent freshwater inflow. Our reefs are varied but small. They are not as deep and prolific as intracoastal systems with direct river River mouth flows. Around the vicinity of Sargent Oysters are most prolific where salt and freshwater mix and produce a special mini habitat This year Caney Creek has had a wonderful fresh water flow for months and surging flow during the Hurricane Harvey. Also, the San Bernard River Overflow from Hurricane Harvey was intense. Much of this fresh water pushed into East Matagorda Bay. This was good for the Bay and the Oysters. Yet even though they are healthy but they are small. The State needed to step in and help.
The State of Texas has stepped in to help our reefs which are small delicate and Pristine. Lake Austin Is a freshwater lake to the north of the bay. It is fresh water lake and when it overflows it flows into Carancahua Creek which flows into White Oak Bay a part of East Matagorda Bay. There are many active reefs in that area. Our reefs are niche Reefs and that is why I prize the taste of the Oyster so much. It is Unique water mixture that creates our Oysters in East Matagorda Bay. Note Marsh and Wetlands Areas.
In the Greater Sargent ecosystem we are blessed with semi pristine watersheds to the North of the Bay. These watersheds Like the San Bernard and The Big Boggy Federal Preservers filter the fresh water before it enters the bay and help bring nutrients to the Oysters to form and build reefs. The state has authorized this part of the bay for Oyster Harvesting. It is clearly mapped for the harvesting of Oyster. The water flows create the unique taste Profile.
The Season for harvest is November to April, Sunrise to 3:30 pm No commercial activity on Saturday and Sunday. If you want to harvest as an individual You need a valid Saltwater Fishing licence and must observe all laws on size and location. You must not use a mechanized approach in your harvest. If you do then you then need an additional special commercial licence. You are limited to 2 100lb Sacks a day including shell as an individual.
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This year with the help of the Texas Legislature there have been many improved good sense rules and guidelines on the Harvesting of our reefs. Enforcement has been much more robust. The new rules really curtail the percentage of undersized Oysters per sack harvested. Also the number of sacks per day harvested decreased. Harvestable reefs must be 300 feet from land. . Lance Robinson Texas Coastal Fishing Deputy Director wants the new regulations to help preserve, stabilize and renew the Oyster Resource in the Texas Bays. Commercial rules lowered daily catches from 40 to 30 sachs a day. Undersized Oysters allowed per Sack from 15% to 5%. Commercial Oysterman must now take Saturdays off. Reefs are closed to commercial harvesting on Saturdays during the season.
So East Matagorda Bay Oysters continue to improve but now difficult to collect legal large Oysters. Oysters which are abundant but small. Our Prized Oysters remain small for the most part this year. . So that is good news for the long run but not such good news for this year. I might have to get my sack of Oysters from Galveston or Sea Drift this year. Everyone seems convinced it would be hard to harvest large Oysters in East Matagorda Bay. So while your fishing the dock under the lights enjoy East Matagorda Bay Oysters. For they are best in the cold weather.
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