The oyster expert speaks
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You’ve got to wonder what Chambers County Judge Randy McDonald did on his recent vacation, because apparently he came back as an oyster expert.
Earlier this month, Judge McDonald had stopped the oyster transplant program of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The whole idea of the program is to let oyster farmers move oysters to healthier waters so they can filter out bacteria, and thus be safe to eat.
But suddenly Judge McDonald is an oyster medical specialist, claiming in open court, “Concerns about the health and safety of the oysters is a red herring.”
Makes you wonder who “Health Department Scientist” Judge McDonald was chatting with while he was lounging on vacation. What are his seafood credentials?
The Judge even reported the oyster population in those areas weren’t that large this year. How does he know? Maybe scuba diving was part of the vacation?
Before he left for vacation, Judge McDonald had essentially punted the oyster legal battle to Austin, where a Travis County Judge is hearing the State of Texas lawsuit against the plot to privatize a large part of Galveston Bay, so the lucrative oyster crop will essentially be an oyster monopoly.
Have you got your oyster scorecard handy?
A half a century ago the state sold part of the bottom of Galveston Bay to the Chambers-Liberty County Navigation District for the limited purpose of handling navigation. For nearly five decades the Parks and Wildlife folks did what they’ve been doing since the beginning of Texas, managing all the fishies in Galveston Bay, including oysters.
Then last year, a couple of politically powerful guys in Anahuac cut a secret deal with the politically appointed navigation district to lease 23,000 acres of Galveston Bay bottom and they claim they are the new Sheriff of the water. They want no other companies who have longstanding legal leases from the state, to come into their water.
The Chambers County company STORM (Sustainable Texas Oyster Resource Management, LLC) got the Chambers County District Judge to stop the state from issuing any permits, and right now that prohibition is still in effect. The Judge even accused the Parks and Wildlife Department of potentially conspiring with trespassers who want to oyster in STORM waters. Judge McDonald wants the legal fight to stay in his court. The Austin courts disagree.
So oyster lovers are in limbo.
The public oyster season starts November 1, which means any of us, including Judge McDonald can get some oysters.
So will they all be trespassers? Maybe I’ll go fishing.
“Judge McDonald got offended last week when I suggested a Chambers County Judge shouldn’t be involved in this smelly good ole’ boy deal,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “Not to pile on, but I sure would like to know who gave him the oyster handbook while he was on vacation.”
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