AUSTIN — During its Jan. 23 meeting, the Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) Commission approved changes to the oyster Certificate of Location (COL) program rules.
The approved rule revisions allow the use of the COL program for oyster reef restoration as well as harvesting, and includes:
- Mirroring Parks and Wildlife Code changes that were made in the last legislative session.
- Changes needed for the administration of new authorities.
- General modernization of the language provided in the COL program.
COLs are leased areas in Texas coastal waters that are currently used for private on-bottom oyster harvesting. Currently, 43 COLs exist in Galveston Bay (spanning over 2,300 acres), and account for 9 percent to 36 percent of Texas’ total annual oyster harvest. The adopted changes allow new COLs to be permitted for oyster reef restoration.
In addition to the adopted revisions to the COL program rules, TPW Commission also approved the request to publish proposed rule changes within the statewide fishing proclamation, which includes:
- Digital Products – The proposed changes include the Digital Exempt Angler tag (digital product) and would make conforming changes regarding the issuance of recreational hunting and fishing licenses, stamp endorsements, and selected permits as digital products.
- Administrative Transfer of Spotted Seatrout Tag – The proposed changes would consolidate all provisions governing spotted seatrout harvest to a single place in the code. This change will improve the readability and organization of the code after changes were made last spring.
