As seen in the October / November 2024 Issue of TIDE Magazine
One billionth hatchery-raised fish released into Texas waters. (Yes, that’s BILLION, with a “B”)
Billie the Billionth, a name suggested and voted on by the public in anticipation of this achievement, was released along with thousands of other fingerlings at an event on Christmas Bay in Freeport, Texas.
This summer, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division reached an incredible milestone when the billionth hatchery-produced fingerling was released into Texas coastal waters. The fish was raised by TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Enhancement Program as part of a decades-long effort by the department to ensure coastal fisheries are sustainable and abundant for generations to come.
Billie the Billionth, a name suggested and voted on by the public in anticipation of this achievement, was released along with thousands of other fingerlings at an event on Christmas Bay in Freeport, Texas. The billionth fish was a red drum fingerling, one of the most iconic game fish in the state that has enjoyed record-high populations, thanks to successful fishery management by the state and several partners.
Billie’s release is four decades in the making and was made possible thanks to sustained partnerships with the Coastal Conservation Association, DOW Chemical, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, the S.E.A., Phillips 66, anglers who’ve purchased their saltwater fishing licenses in Texas, and funding from the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Program (the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950).
“We are proud to celebrate this historic milestone with the people of Texas and shed light on the work biologists and technicians have put in to keep these fisheries healthy,” said Robin Riechers, director of TPWDs Coastal Fisheries Division. “Coastal Fisheries staff have been stocking saltwater fish into Texas bays since the 1980s to revitalize historic fisheries and speed up the recovery of overfished stocks. We could not have reached the stocking of the billionth fish without the support of Texas’ anglers, our partners and staff.”
The Coastal Fisheries Enhancement Program, which consists of three marine hatcheries, made routine stocking fish into Texas coastal waters a reality. Strategically spread along the Texas coast, TPWD’s marine hatcheries include: the Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research Station located in Palacios, the Marine Development Center in Corpus Christi, and Sea Center Texas located in Lake Jackson.
