OYSTER GARDENING: Down at Galveston Bay, Texans are 
gardening ... not flowers ... but oysters...we'll explain on 
Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

In Galveston Bay, some volunteers are gardening oysters. 
But they're not looking to eat their produce. 

(Water sounds) ... We've got to rinse off some of the muck. :3.5

TPW biologist Bill Rodney (rod-knee) pulls up one of the 
mesh bags that hang off some of the private piers in San 
Leon. 

The pier owners filled these bags with oyster shells and 
put them in the water at the beginning of the summer. 
Now, they are teeming with crabs, shrimp, small fish and 
baby oyster.

Rodney says none of these little critters will be staying in 
the bags.

Probably in the late fall we'll pull up all these bags and then we'll 
take them out to the reefs that we built to give those little 
communities a jump start. :10.8 

It's like seeing the reef. These reefs aren't far from shore 
or the avid anglers of San Leon.

This is a big fishing community. They're motto is they are a 
drinking community with a fishing problem. These reefs will 
create structure that attracts fish. By having the reefs close to 
their pier, they won't have to go out so far to find fish, and 
hopefully it will improve the recreational fishing around here. :19

Volunteers can't eat the oysters they grow because the 
water close to shore doesn't meet water quality 
standards, but these oysters will help repopulate reefs in 
the rest of the bay. And if that's the case, this fishing 
community is more than happy to help.

That's our show ... we had research and writing help from 
Gretchen Mahan...the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration 
program supports our series ... For Texas Parks and 
Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti. 

Total sound bite time:		 0:33.3
Maximum Script time:		 0:51.7 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25