Passport to Texas

Spill on Sabine River with containment booms

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This is Passport to Texas

If thousands of fish were to wash up dead on the Texas coast, biologists from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Kills and Spills Team would be dispatched to the scene.

The Kills and Spills Team is a program in the Resource Protection division of the department, and is responsible for responding to fish kills, wildlife kills, oil spills and hazardous chemical spills. The goal is to protect fish and wildlife from impacts caused by man-made pollution

While large fish kills attract the most attention, uncovering sources of ongoing low-level pollution is just as important.

Some of the most common fish kills that occur near communities are often small—sometimes associated with leaking sewer lines or overflowing manholes. These are segments of the waste-water collection and transport system that can fail. But not all fish kills are caused by pollution. It’s not uncommon to see dead fish when temperatures suddenly drop. Although the majority of fish kills we see are due to natural causes, pollution may be a factor.

TPWD encourages the public to call anytime it sees dead fish in the water and along shorelines. Doing so allows the agency to send out biologists to assess the situation.

The Sportfish Restoration supports our series

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.