http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/re...4&nrsearch=
Voice your opinion while you can. I fear it won't do much good. If you raise or fish with your own live bait be warned, if this passes you will be in violation of the law if you transport it. Don't haul that SAL either as you will be breaking the law.
You're good however if you pay an entry fee to a tourney with off site weigh-in as you'll be covered if you can provide documentation. You're good if you've purchased live bait and kept a receipt (and not exposed them to lake water). Guess money talks.
I'd hate to be TPWD law enforcement.
What a joke. This is a bandaid at best. Zebra mussels will continue to expand.

Pretty much political BS. The next question is how will they stop migratory birds from having them on their feet and legs?

I'm torn on this, as I understand the principal of trying to curtail an invasive species, but honestly this has been going on for decades. All the doomcriers that warned entire ecosystems would collapse, well that hasn't happened in Erie or anywhere else. Once they got in the Mississippi, it was only a matter of a few years anyway.
Although I know the basics of the ecological concern, I don't know enough to say it hasn't negatively affected the waters where they're at. Seems to me doing whatever we can to slow it down (until we DO know all we can) is definately not a bad idea, & all it really is directing a boater to do is do a better job of maintaining their boat.
Conversly, ACOE or any other affected water management agency needs to be cited/fined for not mantaining their water infrastructure, as well.
(I.E.- keeping pump intakes clean with new maint/mitigation processes)
There's no stopping zebra mussels, but we all need to have the same rules.
if this goes statewide, I don't wanna hear no BS from ACOE about how they need more $$ to drain lakes & replace gates, pumps etc from years of neglected mussell damage.

Zebra Mussels is all about water pipes. Has nothing at all to do with fish. I was fishing at Texoma yesterday and the effect of Zebra mussels is this: the water looks as clear as beaver lake in Arkansas. Absolutely Beautiful.

Sure they will pass it. Worthless regulation.

That clear water has alot to do with the fish. Clear water = no microorganisms for forage fish to feed upon, no forage fish = no food for game fish

Read it again. You can transport fish under certain circumstances. I'm not sure it will work since there is no enforcement at the lakes or facilities to ensure you can completely drain your systems. At least it give them a warm and fuzzy feeling that they are stopping the spread.

One problem is most of the boaters don't read the regulations so they don't follow them anyway.

+1
IMHO migratory birds probably contribute more to the distribution of Z mussels that boaters. That being said, I would support any reasonable attempt no matter how trivial to slow or stop the spread.

I agree that this will not work as hoped. Too many will be unaware of the rules and too many will ignore them due to the inconvenience that would be caused them if they followed the regulations.

So without strong enforcement provisions these rules will not work as designed.

Will they slow the spread down? I don't know.

Are zebra mussels bad for Texas lakes? I don't know. But one of the slip owners near me is from up north and he swears the zebra mussels are bad for recreation use of lakes and for fishing on the lakes.

He lived with them for years before moving here so he should know what impact they had on the lakes in his area.

if clear water means no food for forage fish.... Why is Beaver Lake one of the best fisheries in the nation?

Last time I checked the Great Lakes were the cleanest they had been in decades thanks to the zebra mussels. It isnt about the fish... they clog water pipes and cost money to clear.

+1.

The whole idea that clear water is harmful to fish defies any common sense.

"Live fish, including personally caught live bait, cannot be transported in a vessel in water that comes from the water body where they were caught. Personally caught live bait can be used in the water body where it was caught."
I dont see what you see.

Put in some grass carp.......... Oh wait..... that was the last coming holocaust.

I lived in Chicago when the Zebra Mussel thing started a big hub bub. Only thing I remember about it is that once or twice a year, the water out of the tap would smell bad, but there was no taste associated with it.

They must have figured something out to keep the pipes cleaned out because until I moved to Florida in '99 we never had an incident where water was in short supply because of a pumping station going down because of clogged pipes. Now talk about a water main in the old infrastructure bursting is another subject.

Who Will Save the Children

Is there any real evidence of this actually happening? Has anyone with a private pond or lake reported a zebra mussel infestation as a result of birds?

My pond is almost 20 years old and has had plenty of migrating cormorants and ducks stop for a meal and a swim. So far,the pond is free of ZMs.