CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Oyster farming will be legal as of Sept. 1 after Governor Greg Abbot signed a bill.
Oyster farming could mean more than $2 million a year to the Texas oyster industry.
Farmed oysters are grown in cages suspended on poles that float in the water and produce a meaty oyster.
House Bill 1300, authored by State Representative Todd Hunter, will open 1.5 million acres of coastal waters to set up aquaculture or oyster farming after the Texas Parks and Wildlife department determines specific regulations.
Richard Lomax, manager of the Water Street Oyster Bar and Restaurant, and his family, are ready to start their oyster farming enterprise.
"Right now we're in the process of writing rules and regulations with Texas Parks and Wildlife now. So that process will take through the end of this year, and we're hoping to have oysters in the water September 2020," Lomax said.
Currently, the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has set up an oyster resource and recovery center in Palacios, just north of Port O'Connor.
According to Lomax, their research will determine what farming techniques work best in the Coastal Bend.
Hunter has scheduled an oyster farming summit for July. The Texas Oyster Aquaculture summit will be held at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and is free and open to the public.