Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030
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AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division will host a virtual public meeting to present information regarding proposed amendments to the Cultivated Oyster Mariculture (COM) Fee Rule and the COM program rule regarding allowable parentage of triploid oysters used for mariculture purposes in Texas.
The webinar will be held May 6 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.
TPWD has evaluated the annual permit fees and structure of COM permits and proposes a fee reduction to lessen financial burdens on current and future COM permittees while increasing the competitiveness of Texas’ COM permit with similar fees for oyster mariculture in Gulf states and along the Eastern Seaboard.
The department has also reviewed regulations regarding allowable parentage of triploid oyster seed for use in oyster mariculture. Oyster seed are juvenile oysters stocked at COM oyster farms.
Considerations for the proposal included up-to-date scientific information, current biosecurity protocols used in the program, and feedback from the regulated community regarding seed supply. The genetic population structure of the northern Gulf stock of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is shared with oysters from the northern portion of the Texas coast. TPWD has determined that regulations regarding broodstock origin for triploid oysters can be altered to include the entire northern Gulf stock without significant risk to wild Texas oyster populations.
The public is encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more about the proposed recommendations and ask questions about the changes.
The public is also able to review the two items and submit comments via TPWD’s Public Comment Portal:
Public comment can also be submitted at (512) 389-8575 or at cfish@tpwd.texas.gov
TPWD will be accepting public comment submissions until 5p.m. May 21.
