I remember quite clearly the first oil spill I ever experienced while I was in high school. It came during the prime-time summer of 1979 (if memory serves), and it brought tourism and the tourist industry of South Padre Island to a sudden slippery stop. That oil spill, if I recall correctly, came from a well in the Bay of Campeche, and coated South Padre island with globs of unrefined goo for several weeks.

About the only thing to come out of the disaster were tee shirts saying “Tar Baby”, “I Survived the Great Oil Spill of 1979″. Gosh, I wonder what year that really was. It made that national news as one of the biggest stories of the year, and next to hurricane disasters, the biggest disaster to hit the Island at that time. We did survive it, but I can’t find anyone who’s ever forgotten that site. It was a harsh reminder of how easily man can mess with Mother Nature.

Fast forward to Port Arthur, and a more enlightened environmental consciousness, and we have a spill that has certainly had an effect on the fly fishing and general fishing in the Port Arthur, Texas, area. The Sabine-Natchez Waterway ended up with 462-thousand gallons after the Eagle Otome collided with a towboat pushing two barges.

Mostly, I find it surprising this doesn’t happen more often. It may not be the Exxon Valdez (10.9 million gallons), but best I can tell, oil doesn’t mix with water at any ratio.

Texas Parks and Wildlife has video, articles and photography from that event on their site.

I edited down to a few still photos of the Port Arthur oil spill from TPWD. All photo credits are shown as TPWD.

Port Arthur, Texas, oil spill image courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife

One of the ships involved in the Port Arthur Oil Spill.

TPWD workers oversee efforts to contain the oil spill

The minds most concerned with conservation issues effecting Texas fishing, fish and the outlook for the future of our valuable fish resources, will be meeting in Athens, Texas, at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center on January 22nd. and 23rd.

PRESS RELEASE from TPWD -
ATHENS, Texas — Texas fisheries biologists know their jobs are changing. On January 22 a trio of experts will give them a glimpse of what the future may hold at the annual meeting of the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.

The meeting will take place in the Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center here.

Dr. John Nielssen-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist, will address the topic “Texas Climate: Past Changes and Future Projections.” Dr. Karl Eschbach, Texas State Demographer, will discuss the changes taking place in the Texas population. And Dr. Scott Bonar, leader of the Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will address the topic “An Evolving Profession: How Fisheries Management Has Changed in the Far West.”

Later in the day and on Saturday other speakers will address subjects dealing with both freshwater and saltwater fisheries, including the state of Texas bays and estuaries, invasive aquatic species, and management of various fish species. A complete conference agenda can be viewed at http://www.sdafs.org/tcafs/meetings/2010_Athens/Program_at_a_glance_2010.pdf.

Many of the presentations will feature the work of biologists and researchers from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), universities and related businesses such as impacts of invasive suckermouth catfish on the San Marcos river and solving the mystery of fish kills at Fairfield Lake from 2003-2009, while others will report on such topics as the state of the spotted seatrout in Aransas Bay and the impact of Hurricane Ike on oyster reefs in Galveston Bay.

Members of the media are invited to attend any or all of the sessions to gather information and interview presenters. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by e-mail to Larry Hodge, larry.hodge@tpwd.state.tx.us.

All meetings will take place in the Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center at TFFC. For directions, visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc or call (903) 676-2277.

If you have questions about the program, please contact Ken Kurzawski, ken.kurzawski@tpwd.state.tx.us; (512) 389-4591.
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All things considered, we may try to sneak off to Athens for this meeting, although it could lead to scientific brain swelling. Be sure to look at the PDF file to see which speakers would be closely related to issues in your local waters.