Commission staff to seek public comment on reduced mariculture fees and expanded triploid parentage

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) staff asked the commission to place two proposed rule changes for the Cultivated Oyster Mariculture (CALM) program on the agenda for public comment and action.

The proposed amendments would cut annual permit fees for grow-out and nursery/hatchery sites and would broaden allowable broodstock for triploid oysters to include origins from the Northern Gulf region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama), subject to TPWD biosecurity and documentation requirements. Dr. Lindsey Glass Campbell, Coastal Fisheries, Cultivated Oyster Mariculture Program, presented the items and described the rationale: industry stakeholders asked for lower fees to encourage small-business growth, and northern broodstock would increase seed availability for farmers who currently face limited hatchery supply.

Dr. Glass Campbell told commissioners there are 14 permitted grow-out sites, 38 conditional sites awaiting other agency authorizations, and seven permitted nursery/hatchery sites across the coast from East Galveston Bay to the Lower Laguna Madre. Under the fee proposal, public-water grow-out fees would be reduced from $450 per acre per year to $150 per acre per year, and private-land rates would drop from $170 per acre per year to $57 per acre per year. For nursery/hatchery sites the proposal would set a minimum annual fee (whichever is greater): $150 per year or the combined public/private total, reflecting that many nurseries are smaller than an acre and still require annual inspections.

On broodstock, Dr. Glass Campbell said genetic studies show overlap between the Texas northern stock and the broader Northern Gulf region; the proposed rule would allow triploid oysters produced using broodstock from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama, with origins documented and biosecurity protocols followed. She said most Gulf states already permit use of Northern Gulf broodstock and that increasing supplier options would help make seed supply more consistent for Texas oyster farmers.

Dr. Glass Campbell reported a virtual public meeting on May 6 and said TPWD had received 17 comments on the fee item (14 in favor, 3 opposed) and 16 comments on the triploid parentage item (14 in favor, 2 opposed). Those opposing fee reductions included commenters who said fees should not be lowered or should not apply on private land; the Oyster Advisory Committee and the Texas Conservation Alliance both supported the change, she said.

Chairman Hildebrand and other commissioners discussed broader regulatory barriers; Chairman Hildebrand described visits to regional hatcheries and urged efforts to simplify permitting where state law allows. No formal vote occurred during the work session; staff requested the items be placed on the commission's Thursday meeting agenda for public comment and possible action.

TPWD staff said further coastal briefings and stakeholder work would continue and that any rule text would be published for public comment if the commission authorizes publication.