FROZEN!
A S.T.A.R. Like No Other
April 24, 2021
DOGGETT AT LARGE by Joe Doggett
April 24, 2021
Coastal Impact of the Killer Freeze
WINTER WEATHER that hit during the week of February 14, 2021 led to fish kill events on the entire Texas coast. If fish do not make it to a refuge in deeper, more temperature stable water during cold weather, they may die when water temperatures reach a certain threshold.
Dead redfish fill an area in Pringle Lake at Espiritu Santo Bay.
(Photo: TPWD)
After the first fish kill was reported in the Lower Laguna Madre, Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) biologists began the process of assessing kills across multiple bay systems on the coast.
Impacts from the February 2021 Freeze
An estimated minimum of 3.8 million fish were killed on the Texas coast during the February 2021 freeze. This fish kill consisted of at least 61 species. Non-recreational species contributed to 91 percent of the total mortality in numbers of fish. This includes species such as silver perch, hardhead catfish, pinfish, bay anchovy and striped mullet.
Although they’re not sought after by most anglers, non-game fish are ecologically important, providing food for larger game fish as well as adding to the overall diversity of Texas bays. Recreationally important game species accounted for the other nine percent of the total. Of that nine percent, the dominant species included spotted seatrout (48 percent), black drum (31 percent), sheepshead (eight percent), sand seatrout (seven percent), red drum (three percent), gray snapper (two percent), and red snapper (less than one percent).
This was one of the few dead trout found in Sabine Lake. Areas of the Middle Coast, Lower & Upper Laguna Madre were hit hard.
(Photo: Chester Moore)
Both the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre bay systems were hit particularly hard. The Lower Laguna Madre had the highest mortality of spotted seatrout with an estimated 104,000 fish killed. That comprised 65 percent of the
total estimated spotted seatrout killed. When combined with the Upper Laguna Madre, it comprised 89 percent of the total estimated spotted seatrout mortality along the Texas coast. Similarly, the Upper Laguna Madre had experienced black drum mortality at an estimated 82,600 fish and comprised 78 percent of the coastwide black drum killed.
Historical Comparison
This is not the first freeze to occur in Texas coastal waters. Multiple freezes during the 1980s killed almost 32 million fish, with the most severe impacts being on the lower coast.
Although the February 2021 event impacted a large area of the Texas coast, the overall number of fish killed in this event appears to be lower than any of the three freezes in the 1980s.
“Using history as a guide, we believe our fishery has the potential to bounce back fairly quickly as it did after the 1980s freeze. Based on our long-term monitoring, we saw the recovery in terms of numbers of spotted seatrout bounce back in approximately two to three years. This does not mean the fish size and age structure were the same as pre-freeze, but the overall numbers did return in that timeframe.” said Robin Riechers, Coastal Fisheries Division Director.
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However, the spotted seatrout mortality in the combined Upper and Lower Laguna Madres is comparable to the events from the 1980s. Below is a breakdown of each event in the 1980s.
• December 1983: 14.4 million fish killed with a geographic extent of the entire coast.
• February 1989: 11.3 million fish killed with a geographic extent of East Matagorda Bay south to the Lower Laguna Madre.
• December 1989: 6.2 million fish killed with a geographic extent of the entire coast.
The February 2021 freeze appears to have been larger than any other fish kill seen since the 1980s, including those in the 1990s and 2000s. The 1997 freeze saw 328,000 fish killed but had a significantly higher percentage of game species killed (56 percent) than in 2021.
Although some areas of the coast and some species of fish were clearly impacted more than others, overall this is the worst freeze-related coastal fish kill Texas has experienced since the 1980s.
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“There are some important lessons from those historical events that we need to draw upon as we work to accelerate the recovery of our fish stocks, particularly speckled trout along the mid and lower coast,” said Carter Smith, Executive Director of TPWD. “The most obvious, and immediate one for speckled trout is conservation, a practice where every Texas coastal angler can make a contribution right now. Practicing catch and release and/or keeping fewer fish to take home in areas like the Laguna Madre will only give us that many more fish to rebuild from as we augment populations through our hatchery efforts, and we carefully evaluate what regulation changes may be needed to foster a quicker recovery for our bays.”
Fish Kill Assessment Methodology
Assessments for large geographic fish kills occur using a phased approach. The first phase is determining the geographic extent and distribution of fish. This is achieved through observations from staff, state, and local partners as well as the public. Rapid assessments to determine the rough estimates of the number of fish killed as well as species impacted are completed.
Next, TPWD coastal teams are assigned sampling areas, and staff count, measure and record each individual fish present in an area. By following American Fisheries Society guidelines for sampling in this manner, a summary can then be completed for each bay system along with a coast wide assessment. While assessment methods have evolved slightly over time due to better technology and resources, general methodology for how TPWD assesses fish kills is comparable over the decades.
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As the TPWD Coastal Fisheries Division continues to assess this event and determine the impact to the overall fish populations, they will compare it to past freezes and brief the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) on those impacts relative to the historical record of coastal freezes. In the near term, TPWD coastal fisheries biologists will continue to analyze the impacts on populations by species and bay systems. They will work with the TPWC to determine what actions, if any, may be needed to accelerate recovery of fish populations and to help address future events.
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The Coastal Fisheries Division’s long-term routine monitoring programs (e.g. gill nets, bay trawls, and bag seines) allow for analysis of this freeze by comparing it to past events, even before additional routine sampling is conducted. Additionally, as a part of year-round survey efforts, biologists are already collecting information from recreational anglers. This provides additional information regarding the impacts of this cold-weather event on angler catch rates of game fish. TPWD will also be evaluating an increase in spotted seatrout production at its coastal fish hatcheries to aid the recovery efforts.
Dean Thomas of Slow-Ride Guide Services with a dead tarpon he found after the freeze in the Aransas Pass area.
(Photo: Chester Moore)
What can you do to help? As fish stocks recover from this freeze, anglers are encouraged to practice conservation by choosing to catch and release fish or to take only those fish they feel they need to take home to eat. Conserving fish now can only aid in a quicker recovery.
DIGITAL BONUS
Regional Freeze Rundown
The Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD), with assistance from the Law Enforcement Division, continues to assess the fish kills along the Texas coast due to the recent winter weather. Freezing events along the Texas Coast are rare, but extreme cold temperatures can be a natural cause of fish kills. If fish do not make it to refuge in deeper, more temperature stable water in cold weather, they may die when water temperatures reach a certain threshold. For example, spotted seatrout experience more mortalities associated with freezing weather than other common game species.
Currently, TPWD is seeing localized fish kills in affected bay systems and receiving reports of areas with dead fish from guides, anglers, and other boaters along the coast. Initial reporting of fish mortality occurred February 14, 2021. The quantification of impacts to fish is still ongoing. Rapid assessments indicate the majority of fish (by number) impacted were non-recreational species including pinfish, spot, silver perch, gulf menhaden, mullet and other foraging fish. Recreationally important species impacted do include spotted seatrout, red drum, sheepshead, grey snapper, snook, black drum, and tarpon.
The geographic extent of fish kills includes the entire Texas coast, but at this point it appears as if bay systems south of Galveston Bay received most of the impacts. The majority of the kills were located along the southern shores and undeveloped areas such as the back sides of the barrier islands (Example: Pringle Lakes of Matagorda Island). There appears to be differential impacts often seen in various freeze events. Areas such as Pringle Lakes and south of 9 Mile Hole at the Land Cut in the Laguna Madre appear to have higher proportions of game fish impacted. Bay system specific impacts are listed below.
SABINE LAKE
Reports of fish kill in Keith Lake system of Sabine Lake. Game wardens reported seeing red and black drum in addition to some sheepshead.
Galveston Bay Area
Fish kills reported over a 3-5 mile stretch in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) near Christmas Bay, a 9 mile stretch of the GIWW from Swan Lake to Bastrop Bay. Minimal impact with species observed included mullet, sheepshead, small spotted seatrout, red drum.
Fish kill observed in a dead-end canal system in Village of Tiki Island and Jamaica Beach TPWD observed numerous dead mullet floating and a number of other unidentified fish on the bottom of the canal. TPWD retrieved several fish off the bottom from Jamaica Beach with nets. All fish recovered were mullet.
TPWD surveyed areas of Christmas Bay and Cold Pass approximately 2.50 miles and observed no dead fish
MATAGORDA BAY
Fish kills in Carancahua Bay, East Matagorda Bay, Magnolia Beach, Matagorda Peninsula, southern shoreline of the GIWW to West Matagorda Bay, Turtle Bay, Port O’ Connor public beach and pier, canals at Sargent, Keller Bay, Lavaca Bay. Multiple species observed.
SAN ANTONIO BAY
Fish kills observed at the Matagorda Island shoreline, Pringle Lake, southern shoreline of San Antonio Bay. Pringle Lake was hit especially hard with a larger proportion of game fish observed.
ARANSAS BAY
Fish kills observed throughout Aransas Bay system including Lighthouse Lakes kayak launch, Hwy 361, Airport Park Pt. south to Copano Village, Copano Causeway, Bahia Bay canals, Camp Aranzazu, Ransom Channel boat ramp, GIWW adjacent to Redfish Bay, Mud Island, Cedar Bayou, and southern shores of Mesquite Bay. Multiple species observed.
CORPUS CHRISTI
Fish kills observed in the Nueces River tidal near Labonte Park. Species included several snook and tarpon.
Fish kills observed Corpus Christi Bay, community parks along Ocean Dr., and sunset lake. Multiple species observed.
UPPER LAGUNA MADRE
Fish kills observed in Padres Island canals, shoreline near Clem’s and Billings boat ramps, shorelines in Lake Padre, Upper Laguna Madre near JFK causeway, canals of North Padre and Tropic Isles, Land Cut, and Baffin Bay. Multiple species observed with areas particularly hit hard being the Land Cut area.
LOWER LAGUNA MADRE
Fish kills observed in Port Mansfield area, Arroyo Colorado, Brownsville ship channel, Long Island commonly known as the “Y”. Multiple species observed.
Coastal Fisheries Division biologists will continue to make on water assessments into the week of Feb. 22-26. While ongoing assessments can provide some estimates of the magnitude of this event, biologists will be able to present a more accurate assessment of the impacts on particular species as routine monitoring (gill nets, bay trawls, and bag seines) continues and they are able to benchmark numbers against sampling efforts from previous years. For many of the key game species, informative data will start coming in with spring gill net sampling which runs from mid-April thru June. Additionally, as a part of year-round survey efforts, biologist will soon begin collecting information from recreational anglers at boat ramps. This data will provide additional information regarding the impacts of this cold-weather event and will help inform what management actions, if any, are needed to help accelerate recovery of fish stocks.
—from STAFF REPORTS
