San Antonio Bay Partnership has proposed a comprehensive cleanup of San Antonio and Espiritu Santo Bays. This is an effort to pick up plastics and trash from our local marine environments. Here’s the Comprehensive Plan: San Antonio and Espiritu Santo Bay area Clean Up Master Plan
The first step in this effort was the Port O’Connor Shorelines Clean Up on Saturday, September 12, 2020. You can view that plan here: POC Shorelines Clean Up Plan
Fantastic Turn Out and Effort!
Fifteen teams (64 individuals) of youth, adults, locals, weekenders, and out-of-towners covered 15 miles of shorelines Removing Awful Trash!!! By walking and kayaking the shorelines of popular fishing spots such as Saluria, Blackberry Island, Barroom Bay, and the Little Jetties the “Bay RATs” removed
4.6 Tons of Trash!
257 Bags of Trash!
2262 Plastic Drink Bottles!
and many other items such as drink cups, flipflops and ice bags, which likely blew off boats.
Many other items that did not fit into bags such as buckets, fencing, foam and fishing poles were removed from shorelines too. A youth team from the Calhoun County YMCA and 4H, guided by Agrilife & SeaGrant agents, paddled tandem kayaks around Boggy Bayou and hauled-in 38 bags of trash, 3 tires, a metal ladder, and a six-foot cylinder-shaped buoy.
2020 POC Shorelines Cleanup Summary
Calhoun County YMCA Camp & 4H Sport Fishing Program youth guided by Calhoun County Extension Agents RJ Shelly & Emilee DeForest at Boggy Nature Park in Port O’Connor.
Among the most unusual items found were an 1960s era pull-top drink can, a hot tub cover and, ironically, a sign warning “Marine Debris May Cause Severe Ecological Damage”. In thanks for their efforts, volunteers received lunch and beverages at a local restaurant sponsored by San Antonio River Authority, HEB and Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, plus a metal, refillable water bottle to reduce the use of plastic bottles. While the bays now are a bit cleaner there is still much trash to be removed. POC Shorelines Clean Up hopes to be an annual event to keep our bays healthy and productive.
YOU can reduce trash in our bays by following these suggestions >>>
Community Coverage:
Check out Photos below.
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- Wasp nest! Hazard of the Job!
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- Turtle bit flipflop – SAD but all too common!
POC Shorelines Clean Up Map