Executive Summary
A mail questionnaire was used to
collect information on artificial reefs from the Texas charter
boat industry (fishing and diving). The generic category of
charter boats includes three subcategories: party boats
(fishing), charter boats (fishing), and dive boats. The
information provided dealt with the rate and frequency of use,
number of trips offshore, and temporal and spatial patterns of
use. In addition, boat captains were asked to identify
differences in their use characteristics and preferences for
materials, siting, and management. The survey was conducted by
the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M
University and sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department. A total of 178 fishing and dive boat captains were
identified. Surveys were mailed in the spring of 1994. A total
of 118 questionnaires were completed and returned by charter
operators. After eliminating non-deliverables, the resulting
overall effective response rate was 68%.
Characteristics of Texas Boat Captains
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The mean reported age of
captains was 42.4 years with a range of 23 to 77 years
old. About 92% were high school graduates; most (57%)
had some college experience. |
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Captains reported earning
an average of 55% of their household income from the
charter business. |
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Respondents had been in
the business for an average of 12.1 years. About 97%
said they plan to be in business three years from now. |
Estimates on the Total Number of Trips and Customers Taken
Offshore
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Party boats on the Texas
coast took an estimated 372 trips to TPWD reefs or about
1,310 trips to any artificial reef (including TPWD
reefs) in the previous twelve months. Trips to
artificial reefs account for 40% of the total number of
trips taken offshore by this group of captains. |
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Party boats took
approximately 10,335 customers offshore to TPWD reefs
and 35,724 offshore to all artificial reefs. Thus, 40%
of the customers taken offshore by party boats went to
artificial reefs. |
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Charter boats on the
Texas coast took approximately 832 trips to TPWD reefs
or about 3,300 trips to any artificial reef (including
TPWD reefs) in the previous twelve months. These trips
to artificial reefs account for 46% of their total
number of trips taken offshore. |
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Charter boats took
approximately 4,243 customers offshore to TPWD reefs and
16,630 offshore to all artificial reefs. Thus, 50% of
the customers taken offshore by charter boats went to
artificial reefs. |
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Dive boats along the
Texas coast took approximately 125 trips to TPWD reefs
or about 285 trips to any artificial reef (including
TPWD reefs) in the previous twelve months. These trips
to artificial reefs account for 33% of their total
number of trips taken offshore. |
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Dive boats took
approximately 2,452 customers offshore to TPWD reefs and
6,429 offshore to all artificial reefs. Thus, 39% of the
customers taken offshore by dive boats went to
artificial reefs. |
Use of TPWD Artificial Reef Sites
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TPWD reef sites off
Galveston, Port Aransas, and Freeport were reported as
used by the most captains. |
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TPWD reef sites reported
as used most often were off Galveston, Port Aransas,
Port Mansfield, and Freeport, respectively. |
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No captains reported use
of TPWD sites 1, 3, and 6. These site are all over 80
miles offshore of Sabine Pass. |
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Peak activity for TPWD
artificial reefs by all boat types combined occurs
during the summer (June 93-August 93). The least amount
of activity at TPWD reefs occurred in the spring. |
Important Characteristics in Artificial Reef Site Selection
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Captains reported that
one of the most important influences on their trip plans
was travel distance offshore to the reef site. Party
boat, charter boat, and dive boat captains reported
their average travel distance as 32.2, 28.2, 53.5,
respectively. The average maximum reported travel
distance for all captains was approximately 63 miles. |
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The other characteristics
(aside from travel distance) sought by party boat,
charter boat, and dive boat captains water depth and
desired species, desired species and water depth, and
diverse marine life, respectively. |
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The most preferred
materials by captains of all boat types across all
regions were oil production structures, ships, and
barges. |
Opinions on Artificial Reef Issues
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There was overwhelming
agreement (93%) that there should be more artificial
reefs placed byTPWD in the Gulf. |
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Most captains (64%)
supported placing their own structures in safe
locations. |
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Most captains (62%)
opposed placing marking buoys on all artificial reefs. |
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Most captains (59%) felt
mooring buoys should be placed at all TPWD reef sites. |
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Most captains (51%) felt
juvenile red snapper survive when thrown back. |
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A
plurality of operators opposed the designation of reef
sites for specific types of fishing gear or for specific
uses. |
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