The second material operations into the new HI-54 Shallow site took place on June 27 and June 28. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Artificial Reef Program, Friends of Sabine Reefs, and CCA Texas are delighted to announce that. The Sabine Pass jetty is about 9 yards away, and Sea Rim State Park is about 1.9 yards away.
This coast will be a sanctuary for speckled trout, red drum, fish, jackfish, and fish. This implementation consisted of practical culverts, rock blocks, and outdated oil rig structure pieces. This new location makes it easy for outdoor fish to fish in the Upper Coast.
The Rio Grande Valley Reef, a concept used by Friends of the Sabine Pass Reefs, is the inspiration for the creation of two artificial islands, the HI-20 and HI-54 Shallow, according to Friends of Sabine Reefs member Mic Cowart. Cowart continued,” Our first encounter with HI-20 experienced a lot of growing pains but, with the collaboration of groups including Friends of Sabine Reefs, CCA Texas, TPWD Artificial Reef Program, Laredo Construction, and others that came together for the HI-54 Shallow deployment, I know we have assembled a team that has the skills, resources, and most important, the passion for creating and sustaining marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. With this team, the future of artificial reef development is unlimited”!
Plans are being made for the following follow-up deployment in the late summer of this year now that the first one into HI-54 Shallow has been completed. Additionally, a possible plan to bring an additional 5, 000 tons of rip rap rock to the reef site is being discussed. Additionally, another new site, HI-54 Deep, is currently in the planning stages with hopes of being permitted sometime in 2025. The Sabine Pass jetty is 24 miles away, and 9 miles offshore, and the new site will be in about 45 feet of water.
The ability of Friends of Sabine Reefs and Friends of RGV Reef to snag the support of the local community has been a major contributor to their success. The contributions from local businesses like Cheniere Energy, Port Arthur LNG ( Sempra ), Valero, Motiva, and Golden Pass LNG are greatly appreciated by Friends of Sabine Reefs and CCA Texas. Other partners and supporting organizations include Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Artificial Reef Program, CCA Texas, the Building Conservation Trust, Sabine Pass Port Authority, and Eldridge Construction. The Sabine Reefs Initiative has achieved success thanks to strong grassroots efforts and community support.
To realize the goal of allowing recreational anglers the opportunity to fish nearshore habitat out of every port in Texas, CCA Texas collaborated with Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Artificial Reefing Program. To date, CCA Texas has committed more than$ 3, 990, 000 to nearshore reefing efforts through the support of local chapter banquets, community industries, and private donors since 2009. Geographically, this covers every port in Texas from South Padre Island to Sabine Pass, achieving the vision set forth for this program.
For more information about the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Artificial Reef Program, please be sure to visit https ://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/habitats/artificial_ reef/ and click on the Nearshore Reefing tab.
