There has been much controversy over the last few years regarding the fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that every time you turn around there are ever-decreasing bag limits and shorter fishing seasons. This micro-managing of the harvest of the recreational fishermen has proven over the last 20 years to have severe limitations in the effectiveness of obtaining the ultimate goal; enhancing fish biomass. We believe that a better (and proven) method of significantly enhancing biomass of any species is to provide suitable habitat. Texas Parks and Wildlife has been pro-active in providing habitat for deer, quail, ducks, and fish for many years now, and have proven to be very successful at it. It is our goal to assist TPWD's already successful artificial reef program by placing substantial amounts of habitat in already-permitted TPWD reef sites along the Texas coast.

It has been shown that for every dollar invested in artificial reefs over off of the Florida panhandle and Alabama coast, the return on investment is about $100-to-1 PER YEAR for the coastal communities. Alabama has a very small coast line of about 45 miles. They created over 1,260 square miles of artificial reefing areas directly offshore of that 45 mile stretch. Now, that 2% stretch of coast has accounted for about 40% of all recreationally-caught Red Snapper in the past few years!

Keep in mind that this was accomplished in an area that was basically devoid of a viable fishery. Now, according to Dr. Steve Szedlamayer of Auburn University, Alabama has developed its own sustainable red snapper fishery! What an incredible success story - to take 2% of available area and develop a SUSTAINABLE fishery that will support 40% of the entire GOM catch. It is a win-win situation for all involved; the fish win because they thrive in the habitat provided. The fishermen win because they catch more fish and have more enjoyable, productive fishing trips. The coastal communities win as the benefits from people coming to these communities to access these artificial reefs run into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

By working with Texas Parks and Wildlife through their Nearshore Reefing Program, we hope to develop a fishery that will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to TEXAS coastal communities IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE!

Your help in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated - please purchase a reef(s) to ensure a viable offshore fishery for our children and our grandchildren!