Browsing by Author "Hammerschmidt, Paul C."
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Item Research note: Relative blue crab abundance in Texas coastal waters(National Shellfisheries Association, 1985) Hammerschmidt, Paul C.; Journal of Shellfish ResearchPopulations of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun were monitored from December 1977 to November 1981 by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) using 18.3-m bag seines in fishery-independent sampling in Galveston, Matagorda, San Antonio, Aransas, and Corpus Christi bays and the upper and lower Laguna Madre. Catch rates were analyzed for differences using a three-way analysis of variance examining years, seasons, and bay systems. Mean annual coastwide rates were found to vary significantly (P= or less than 0.05) among years. Catch rates increased from 1978 to 1979 and stabilized through 1981. Greatest relative abundance of blue crabs occurred during spring and summer. Significant variations in annual coastwide catch rates were detected. These variations indicated that stratfying data into one high-catch season (spring-summer) and one low-catch season (fall-winter) would provide more precise estimates of relative abundance than yearly analyses thereby aiding in future management decisions and the analysis of the impact of such decisions.Item Texas Artificial Reef Program: Over 50 Years of Marine Habitat Enhancement in the Gulf of Mexico(Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Fisheries Division, 2003) Peter, Douglas D.; Culbertson, Jan C.; Shively, J. Dale; Hammerschmidt, Paul C.; Embesi, John A.Resource managers have been involved in artificial reef development off the Texas coast for over 50 years. The donation of 12 Liberty Ships in 1975-1976 formed the foundation of the current Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program (Program). These ships represent the first successful reef development activity within Texas using stable, durable, and complex material. In 1989, the Texas legislature directed the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to develop the artificial reef potential off Texas, based on the 1984 National Fishing Enhancement Act. The Texas Artificial Reef Plan was adopted in 1990, formally creating the Program. The Program utilizes the federally approved Rigs-to-Reefs Program which provides the oil and gas industry a method to donate their obsolete petroleum structures as artificial reefs in lieu of the standard salvage removal option required by federal law. The Program has reefed 64 obsolete petroleum jackets, one caisson, two decks and one net guard at 37 of the 46 currently permitted reef sites in the offshore waters of Texas. These donations have provided nearly $9 million to the Texas Artificial Reef Fund. Other materials used in the construction of reefs placed at Texas reef sites include: 300 blocks made of coal combustion fly-ash by-product stacked in a pyramid shape; one pipe structure welded in the shape of a 4-pile jacket structure; 132 concrete fabricated "reef balls"; 46 square open-ended concrete (box) culverts; 22 concrete anchors; four stacks of concrete culvert pieces on slag; 50 1-2 ton natural quarry rocks; four sections of a 55-ton U.S. Navy surplus steel buoy; one 100-ft YR=U.S. Navy barge; one T-2 steel tanker; four 100-ft long barges; and one obsolete 44-ft steel tugboat. The Program continues to assess new materials and obsolete oil and gas structures on a case-by-case basis to determine their overall benefits to the program.