TEXAS SURF CONSERVANCY
formerly Texas Surf Museum
From the Museum to the conservancy
In the fall of 2022 Texas Surf Museum shut its doors as a cultural arts space and transitioned into a new nonprofit organization, Texas Surf Conservancy, focused on marine conservation. Our transition is bittersweet. While we will miss seeing everyone in the gallery, we are grateful to be able to respond to relevant and timely issues that threaten Texas’ beaches and coastal habitats. Our long history of working with Harte Research Institute (HRI) at TAMU-CC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Texas General Land Office (GLO), and many other science and conservation groups, provides a solid foundation for the Conservancy to begin this new and exciting chapter of its existence.
EVENT
Texas Oyster RoundUp
On Saturday April 22, 2023, to celebrate the close of Texas’ wild oyster harvest season, Texas Surf Conservancy and Water Street Oyster Bar will host the inaugural Texas Oyster Roundup – a multidisciplinary oyster-centered event that will bring together scientists, conservation groups, businesses, and other relevant organizations in an exposition-like manner throughout Water Street Market in downtown Corpus Christi. Participating groups will engage the public, and each other, with educational booths and other activities to share current research and conservation efforts, all while eating delicious seafood.
In conjunction with educational booths from nonprofits, there will be speakers and panel discussions with local scientists and other professionals about marine conservation and local environmental issues. The Roundup will also offer the public several presentations and educational workshops that celebrate and promote South Texas culture, particularly fishing and seafood.
The event will create an annual moment of connection and collaboration for regional conservation and research organizations. Texas Oyster Roundup will also create an opportunity for the public to explore new perspectives on local environmental issues, and develop a deeper understanding of how seemingly divergent sectors within the Coastal Bend are intrinsically tied to one another through our shared dependence on the natural landscape of the coast. This celebratory, and free, festival is embedded in the natural landscape of the Coastal Bend, and is deeply engaged with present-day communities in South Texas.
All the proceeds from the Oyster Roundup will directly support the Sink Your Shucks oyster shell recycling program and the Conservancy. At the end of the festival, TSC and HRI will add up the weight of all the shucked shells generated by the event, and will publicly announce the total to encourage a sense of collective achievement.
Purchase Tickets Here! https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/7963294/oyster-round-up-corpus-christi-water-street-market
Event graphic by Jon Steele
RESEARCH
Phytoplankton Monitoring Network
In partnership with Texas Oyster Ranch, the Conservancy is a proud participant in the National Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN), a program run by NOAA and made up of a community-based network of volunteers who monitor marine phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms (HABs). PMN recognizes the interrelationships between humans and coastal ecosystems while providing volunteer citizen scientists with meaningful opportunities for hands-on science engagement. The PMN enhances the Nation’s ability to respond to and manage the growing threat posed by HABs, like Red Tide, by collecting important data for species composition and distribution in coastal waters and creating working relationships between volunteers and professional marine biotoxin researchers.
Twice a month, Conservancy staff collects water samples from the Ranch’s oyster farm on Copano Bay to look for HABs, using a state-of-the-art microscope donated by NOAA. The Conservancy and the Ranch provide NOAA with valuable data to help track how the burgeoning oyster mariculture industry in Texas interacts with the microbiome of the state’s bays and estuaries.
Since 2001 PMN volunteers have discovered over 500 blooms throughout the coastal United States and have generated over 480,000 observations of environmental conditions. Volunteer data is directly incorporated into the state HAB monitoring plains of Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. HAB managers of other states are notified of potential blooms by PMN staff directly.
Harmful algal blooms impact the coastal economy on average $82 million a year. Because every coastal state suffers HABs the problem is too much for any one agency. The National Phytoplankton Monitoring Network collects ecological data at low taxpayer expense in 36 states and territories. This is a true “citizen science” program that combines expertise from NOAA, state and federal agencies, and industry with the energy of volunteers from schools, universities and civic groups.
DONATE TODAY!
Charitable contributions of any size are greatly appreciated, and 100% tax-deductible. Your gift will support healthy beaches and marine habitats in the Coastal Bend.
For more information about donations and in-kind giving, contact Brad Lomax. (brad@waterstreetrestaurants.com)
sponsors & Partners
