Preparing to Release the Kraken
This is Passport to Texas
The artificial reef team at Texas Parks and Wildlife works on several projects at once. Each with staggered timelines.
The whole process [for each] can take several years.
Program leader, Dale Shively says monies for mitigation from the Deep Water Horizon oil spill that came to Texas Parks and Wildlife were earmarked to establish new reefs.
One of those is an offshore, deep water ship project. We have a reef site that’s 70 miles out of Galveston in 140 feet of water that is designed for a ship. Recently, we awarded a contract on a ship that’s currently being cleaned in Brownsville, Texas. One of my staff members thought it would be fun to name it The Kraken. I, for one, didn’t know what a Kraken was. Later I found out it was a sea monster from various movies and Greek Mythology.
Far from being scary, this ship will attract marine life and help to improve recreational and commercial fishing.
So, we’re hoping to have that cleaned and ready to go later this year, if we can get all the approvals in place.
For all the latest information on the artificial reef program, log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and use the key words “artificial reef”.
The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.