He's the Future of Fishing in Texas | Texas Country Reporter

[00:00:07]That's just one fish. Think about what one fish can do, and then do it times a billion. [music] It spawns conservation.

[00:00:14]Is even just a setting like this, people learning about this, they learn the coast matters. It's amazingly complex, um, but it's but it comes down to how people handle it. And [music] and we're blessed in Texas that people in general handle it pretty darn well.

[00:00:33]>> On the sun-drenched shore of Christmas Bay, the thick humid air crackles with an electric excitement as anglers gather in anticipation for the day's festivities.

[00:00:44]In the shallows, a young boy gently cradles a tiny glistening token of their collective [music] achievement, the 1 billionth redfish fingerling to be released into the Gulf, a symbol of the decades-long effort to revitalize Texas's coastlines.

[00:01:03]>> You know, a lot of this stems back to what's sort of known, uh, as the redfish wars. In 1977, 14 anglers got together, recreational anglers, and said we've had enough. And, um, the late Bob Kemp and and many other great leaders at that time saw the need to work together to try to make a difference. And what happened legislatively and administratively to better manage that resource and get gillnets out of Texas bays, um, was also paired with the idea of creating these hatcheries that could help replenish the bays. It it did truly start in Texas, and there's a maverick piece to that, um, but boy, you see it as vividly and as emphatically in in other states as well.

[00:01:54]>> As As president of the Coastal Conservation Association, Pat Murray has long dreamed of witnessing this historic milestone.

[00:02:03]His deep-rooted passion for the land and sea, which began in his youth, led him down the path that put him on shore today to see Billy, the 1 billionth fingerling, be released.

[00:02:14]>> You know, I was I was a fishing guide in Galveston Bay, and that's really I mean, I found my love for fishing fishing with my dad when I was a little boy. I mean, [music] like the first time I saw my dad catch a flounder, I thought he got a I caught a Martian. I was like, he caught a Martian. Look at that thing. Um and >> [music] >> and I I just wanted to know more.

[00:02:31]But, that's what got me into fish guiding because I was all in on that. It was like, this is [music] what I want to do.

[00:02:40]And and then you don't have to guide long to learn, number one, how important the resource is, but also how delicate it is. And >> [music] >> and I said, you know, I that's something I really want to be a part of. And was was was blessed to get hired in in 1997 and have stayed there ever since.

[00:03:05]Before Pat became president, decades of dedication, hard work, science, and sacrifice shaped the development of the hatcheries and revitalization efforts of the CCA and TPWD.

[00:03:17]>> 3 2 1 >> Open it.

[00:03:22]>> But, much like nature, conservation is an unending cycle.

[00:03:26]One that Pat is optimistic will continue indefinitely, fueled by a new generation of anglers and conservationists that will hopefully be inspired by fish like Billy.

[00:03:38]>> What's your relationship with this guy?

[00:03:39]>> Oh, this is my grandson, Noah Trevino.

[00:03:41]>> Yeah. And and why does it matter to be doing this work for him?

[00:03:44]>> Well, he represents the future.

[00:03:46]>> I just like [music] that the idea that we would have a billion fish is incredible.

[00:03:49]>> It's incredible.

[00:03:50]>> It's just incredible. And and in an era billion and trillion and all these big numbers are thrown around, it I guess it what I really [music] like doing is thinking about a billion fish and then home in on one and think about the difference one fish can make. Cuz that fish can grow up and spawn, that fish [music] can go, you know, get caught and turn someone on to conservation. It can do a lot.

[00:04:10]And there's a billion of them that have been put in these bays and there's going to be a billion more. That's probably even more exciting.

[00:04:17]>> Yeah, that's incredible.

[00:04:18]>> Yeah, it's incredible.

[00:04:23]>> [music] >> So, if you like stories like that, make sure you like and subscribe to see many more in the future.