SEAGRASS: A new regulation to conserve seagrass in 
Redfish Bay goes into effect this month ... details ahead on 
Passport to Texas.
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PTT from TPWD and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Redfish Bay is a popular destination for anglers. 

In fact, this area is number one for guided fishing trips, and 
second highest along the Texas coast for private boat anglers. 
Visitors outnumber locals two to one. :09

Popularity comes with a price, says Faye Berens, a coastal 
fisheries biologist based in Rockport. Seagrass in this 
state scientific area provides essential food and habitat 
for marine life. Yet, it's been uprooted, and its beds 
severely trenched, by submerged propellers. So, today a 
new regulation goes into effect to protect these plants.
 
And the basics of that regulation are, there's no uprooting of 
Seagrass allowed inside this scientific area - that includes 32-
thousand acres. Now, boaters are allowed throughout the area - 
no area's shut down. Trolling motors and anchors are exempted 
from the regulations. So if you do uproot any seagrass by using 
one of those devices, you're exempted from the law. :24

Trolling motors and anchors are exempt because any 
damage they might inflict is minimal. 

[seagull call] Overall, what we're trying to do is really get 
boaters to think about what they're doing out in the water. The 
onus, the responsibility, is on the boater to know the area he's 
fishing in, and also protect and preserve some of the habitat 
that supports the fish that he's fishing for. :17

Learn more about the Redfish Bay seagrass regulation on 
the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website.

That's our show. We had help today from Aaron Reed. The 
Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and 
funds programs that protect and restore native habitat.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.