TAA 2026 Annual Meeting
FULTON CONVENTION CENTER JANUARY 19-21, 2026
Plan to join your aquaculture friends and family at the Texas Aquaculture Association’s Annual Meeting in January in Fulton Beach! The TAA Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity for everyone connected to aquaculture to engage with one another and learn about emerging issues and solutions to common challenges. You’ll also have an opportunity for input to TAA’s strategic direction to support your business in Texas and nationally.
Just 40 minutes from the Corpus Christi International Airport, about an hour drive from Palacios and a beautiful venue on the waterfront, the Fulton Convention Center will be the perfect place for our January gathering. More details will be provided soon but add this date and location to your calendar now!
Have ideas about topics or speakers? Want to learn more about sponsorship and ways to support your customers and Texas aquaculture? Contact TAA today at TexasAquaculture@gmail.com.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
TAA provides a voice on behalf of all of Texas aquaculture in state and national legislative and regulatory matters. 2025 was an active legislative session in Austin, and below and linked are a few of the bills TAA worked to either support or oppose in order to protect aquaculture. We coordinated with the Texas Oyster Mariculture Association and The Catfish Institute on certain bills, and there were some signficant wins for Texas aquaculture and some issues we’ll have to address again in the future. Highlights of the wins – with the Governor’s signature pending on some – are below. More details can be found at this link.
HB609 – allows the holder of a cultivated oyster mariculture permit to discharge into state waters the waste related to the cleaning of a structure used to grow oysters at the location where the permit holder is authorized to operate. Status: sent to the Governor
SB1215 – allows placement of a cultivated oyster in a natural oyster bed, a private oyster bed, or coastal waters if the department (TPWD) authorizes the placement in writing.. Status: Signed by the Governor 5/15/2025; effective 9/1/2025
HB3486 – incentivizes restaurants with tax reductions if they purchase and serve Texas farm-raised oysters. Status: sent to the Governor
HB 3487 – incentivizes restaurant owners with tax reductions if they participate in an oyster shell recycling program. Status: sent to the Governor
SB823 – A person may not sell meat, poultry, shrimp, and certain related food products unless it includes a clear and conspicuous label stating whether it originated in Texas. Status: sent to the Governor
TAA Availability List
Looking for where to find certain typs of fish or other products or seeking assistance with managing or stocking a pond or lake? Check out TAA’s Availability List on the TAA website to find a source close to you. This link takes you directly to the TAA Availability List web page.
News from the National Aquaculture Association (NAA)
RMA’s Hurricane Insurance Protection are available for the Containerized Oyster Insurance Policy. Farmers growing containerized oysters should consider acquiring the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Shellfish Policy and then the HIP-WI Endorsement that provides coverage for a portion of the deductible (up to 95% of the expected crop value) of the underlying crop insurance policy when the county, or a county adjacent to it, is within the area of sustained hurricane-force winds from a named hurricane as published by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To learn more, watch a six-minute video by clicking here, check out FAQs here, or contact your crop insurance agent. Agents can be found at the RMA Agent Locator.
FDA Announces Animal Drug User Fee Conference: The U.S. FDA is announcing a public educational session for stakeholders interested in the new animal drug approval process. The conference is described in the “Animal Drug User Fee Act Reauthorization Performance Goals and Procedures Fiscal Years 2024 Through 2028.” The date/time is July 15, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Attendees can join in-person or virtually. Register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ADUFAV_2025External Link Disclaimer.
NAA Goes to Washington – In May, NAA went to DC to advocate for aquaculture friendly Farm Bill provisions described in its 2025 Farm Bill Priorities booklet.
NAA Welcomed Caitlyn Czajkowski as its new Executive Director in April – learn more about Caitlyn here. Thanks to Paul Zajicek for his numerous years of service and contributions to promoting and protecting aquaculture!
Other Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Small Business Roundtable – June 17, 2025
The U.S. Small Buisness Administration Office of Advocacy will hold a virtual meeting seeking feedback on the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Request for Information seeking public input on regulations to repeal or reform. This roundtable will take place from 12:00pm to 2:00pm CT via the Microsoft Teams platform.
Use this link to view the agenda and register.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) new Texas Third
Tuesdays webinar series – June 17, 2025
Learn more about farm loan, conservation, disaster and price support programs. To register, visit fsa.usda.gov/tx and check the upcoming events listing. For more information, contact Joshua Coleman at joshua.coleman@usda.gov or 979-680-5252.
Taste of Palacios – Oct 25, 2025
Calling all seafood chefs or cooking teams to participate! The 3rd annual TOP is looking for people and/or organizations who want to show off their skills preparing the best seafood dish/dip/ gumbo, etc. to earn the recognition as the best in Palacios!