Army Corps Green Lights 80 Foot Dredge:

The public received notice last week that the Army Corps green lights 80 foot dredge. The Corps of Engineers has authorized the Port of Corpus Christi to dredge the Aransas Ship Channel to 80 feet and out into the Gulf of Mexico for 10 miles. This includes moving 47 Million cubic yards of material out of the channel and Gulf and onto Port Aransas beaches and other local spoil areas. [LINK]

Thoughts from Capt Kenjo (full-time Port A resident since 2012):

What does this mean for you as a visitor or resident to Port Aransas beaches and bays? As a recreational fisherman, pro guide, nearby and newly established fly fishing lodge and outfitter in Rockport or Corpus Christi???

It means a lot if you don’t want to swim or go fishing in a mud puddle. It means shitloads of sediment laden salt water, too dirty for marine life to survive long, and too sediment stricken to want to breathe it in. It also means water so stirred up it looks like chocolate milk. Additionally, it means that our beautiful clear water that is usually excellent for sight-fishing, will become horrible water for sight fishing. That industrial impact will also continue for the next 15-20 years.

If you were around during the 5-6 years of dredging from the 45′ to the 54′ mark after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, you already know that it made the waters surrounding Port Aransas, Corpus, Rockport, Aransas Pass, and all of its bays and channels, very dirty and extremely difficult to sight-fish. We managed but the fishing was though then even though the fisheries populations hadn’t declined just yet. That was also about the same time that the jack crevelle fishing in the bay pretty much ended. Please also know that Rockport or Corpus Christi and the Laguna Madre will too be affected by this long-term dredging!

Additionally, if you do some simple math, it took the Port of CC approximately 5 years to deepen the Corpus Ship Channel only 9ft, and therefore, dredging it an additional 26 feet will take much much longer. This is long enough for all of the seagrass in the State Protected area of Redfish Bay to be totally dead because the suspended (dredge) particles will prevent photosynthesis from occurring, which is necessary for the seagrasses to grow, which is also essential habitat for the food sources of our precious gamefish species such as Speckled Trout, Redfish as well as flounder, black drum, sheepshead etc..

Imagine this then: Think of the numbers of bay, bait, and fly guides as well as recreational fisherman and pleasure boaters that it would displace. Now imagine those same numbers showing up to work, fish, and recreate in Baffin Bay, the upper Laguna Madre, Port O’Connor, Seadrift, Mesquite Bays, Copano, so forth and so on. Now how is that going to effect your own “locally hallowed waters”? Are those of you on the fringes of all this damage going to happily accept the multitudes of displaced fisherman searching for cleaner water?

Continued notes from PAC:

The EIS and the entire Permit is flawed, as the Port staff and Commission have publicly said they have no plans to build a VLCC Oil Export Terminal on Harbor Island, which is the purpose of the 80 ft. dredge.

The fact that the Oil Terminal was not part of this EIS defies federal law and common sense. The Port has indicated that they will temporarily shelve this Permit and pull it out in the future when they dream up a new Purpose. If you say “Beneficial Use” over and over as the Port advertises, does the other damaging effects of deep dredge get ignored?

The Permit is a boondoggle and a slap in the face to Port Aransas and its many visitors from across the country. Port Aransas Conservancy will be meeting with its attorneys to explore its legal options.

James King
President, Port Aransas Conservancy

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