Tour the first hatchery in Texas and learn how two of the top sport fish in the Gulf of Mexico have been replenished and are maintained. Courtesy photo
Take a tour of Texas’s first hatchery and visitor center, the Coastal Conservation Association Marine Development Center in Corpus Christi. The center produces and releases juvenile red drum and spotted sea trout into Texas bays.
The state facility includes eight saltwater aquariums, spawning tanks, an incubator room and outdoor rearing ponds. The aquariums replicate eight different Texas coastal habitats. Spawning tanks contain 3,000 gallons of saltwater where broodfish are induced to spawn eggs by manipulating water temperature and light.
In the incubator room, fish eggs and larvae are on display at every stage of development. A tour of the facility ends at the outdoor rearing ponds, where fish go before they are assigned, transported and released into the Gulf of Mexico to replenish stock.
The Marine Development Center is part of a trifecta of conservation groups: the Coastal Conservation Association, American Electric Power and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It opened in 1982 when researchers realized that red drum populations were dropping rapidly. The plan has worked so far. Red drum and spotted sea trout fisheries, which are important sport-fishing species, have made a comeback in response to coastal management.
The CCA Marine Development Center is located at 4300 Waldron Road in Corpus Christi. Admission is free, though donations are accepted. Tours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tours last about an hour and are available by appointment only by calling (361) 939-7784. You can also email shannon.quaranta@tpwd.texas.gov.
