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 3^rd 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!

TAA Members –

Happy Friday!! Starting today, you will receive a monthly newsletter from TAA to keep you in the know on things happening in Texas aquaculture and at TAA. So much has happened already in 2025, so I wanted to share some highlights with you today, but the plan for future “newsletters” is to be in a more engaging format. Thanks for your patience. Please let me know if you have questions about anything below or otherwise, and if I left anything important out, please send me feedback to help improve future TAA newsletters..

TAA Annual Meeting

75 people attended the TAA 2025 Annual Meeting in Port Lavaca January 27 – 29th. Thanks to TAA Vice President Brian Ray of Texas A&M AgriLife for developing an awesome day & a half program. The Agenda can be found here, and those of you who attended were previously provided a link to the speakers’ presentations. Thanks to Homegrown Seafood and PMAR for providing tours and for your very special sponsorship support! PMAR was a Visionary sponsor and Homegrown Seafood supplied the redfish for the banquet. Additional thanks goes to Gulf States Aquaculture for its special support for the TAA student scholarship fund. A $1,000 donation was made in lieu of the marksmanship competition (cancelled due to weather), and another $500 donation was made in recognition of Fritz Jaenike who retired in December as TAA’s Executive Director.

And a BIG THANK YOU to all of our other sponsors who helped make the event a great success: Capital Farm Credit (El Campo), Hayward Flow Control, Pure BioMass, Austwell Aqua Farm, The Orion Companies, Tyler Fish Farm, Lochow Pond & Lake Management, Ekstrom Aquaculture, Cargill, Fusion Fiberglass, and Rangen.

Special guests that were recognized for their years of contributions to Texas aquaculture included Doyle Schaer, Donna Hanson and Cindy Schmid (posthumously). TAA student scholarships were awarded to Claire White (graduate) and Kyus Saha (undergraduate).

The 2026 Annual Meeting planning is already underway, so if you have interest in where it will be held, please email me ideas for cities and venues. We hope to announce it by early April! We’re also accepting presentation/speaker ideas and of course sponsorship pledges!

TAA Board Members – Election Results

New officers and board members elected at the TAA Annual Business Meeting include Brian Brawner – Hayward Flow Control as President, Brian Ray – Texas A&M AgriLife as Vice President, Nasir Kureshy – Turtle Creek Aquaculture as Treasurer. The position of Secretary remains open at this point.New board members include David Aparicio – DJ’s Oyster Company and Jim Meyn – PMAR. Board members elected to another term include Mark Kubecka – Homegrown Seafood, Fritz Jaenike – Jaenike Consulting and Mike Robison – Brenham Fisheries. Special thanks to outgoing board members, Hannah Kaplan – Barrier Beauties and Granvil Treece – Treece & Associates for their service. The full list of TAA board members can be found on the TAA website.

NAA Election Results – TAA is on the NAA Board!

The Texas Aquaculture Association was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Aquaculture Association last week in New Orleans at the NAA Member meeting during Aquaculture2025! Shane Nicaud, Chief Administrative Officer of Gulf States Aquaculture in Palacios, will be TAA’s representative on the NAA Board. Membership in NAA is extremely important for both the TAA and individual members of the aquaculture community because it provides a national voice for aquaculture on legislation, regulations, and other challenges directly impacting members and stakeholders who depend on a strong aquaculture community. To learn more about NAA, visit their website here.

Congratulations to Shane!! We know you will provide a strong and passionate voice for Texas aquaculture and our key stakeholders!

TAA Goes To Austin – Key Legislation and TAA Actions To-Date

Also last week, I went to the Texas Capitol to meet with key legislators to provide support for bills directly impacting TAA members. Below are the two bills that TAA provided a letter of support for and the offices visited.The elected officials were in hearings or committee meetings but legislative aids were available in most cases. TAA has been in communication with the Texas Oyster Mariculture Association on the oyster bills and is working closely with The Catfish Institute to coordinate efforts on the catfish bills. Also TAA Board member, Amanda Saha, will be in Austin Monday to testify on SB1484 at the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs hearing.

SB1484 – regarding the marketing and sale of catfish and similar fish by food service establishments. 

TAA’s general letter of support can be found here (most were personalized to the legislator). Below are the offices visited last week. 

• Senator Hinojosa – author of SB1484 (met with Natalie Garcia)
• Senator Kolkhorst – (met with Michael Vallee)
• Senator Sparks (met with Hannah – will give info to Legislative Assistant…)
• Senator Perry (met with Adisyn Elrod)

HB2976 (companion bill to SB1484 – identical)

• Rep. Briscoe Cain –  author of HB2976  (met with Zach)
• Rep. Guillen, Chair of Ag Committee (receptionist gave materials to Legislative Asst….)
• Rep. Guerra, Vice Chair of Ag Committee (met Laela Ovalle – will give materials to Legislative Assistant…

HB609 – Relating to the cleaning of a structure used to grow oysters for cultivated oyster mariculture. The hearing is scheduledfor next Thursday, March 20th in the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

TAA’s general letter of support can be found here (most were personalized to the legislator). 

• Rep. Vasut – author of bill (met with Dylan)
• Rep. Helen Derwin (met with Pierce)
• Rep. Orr (met with Seth)
• Rep. Mano (met with Eric)

Other key legislation impacting TAA oyster members.

Please contact your legislator to support these bills!  An excellent & free app to use to easily access your legislators’ contact information is called Cirql Use it to find your legislator, which committees they serve on and their contact information to email, call or visit.

TAA Joins the Texas Agriculture Council

Last week, the Texas Agriculture Council approved TAA as a member. Benefits of membership: Being part of the TAC provides more eyes on legislation providing intel, as well as guidance and insight to approaching certain legislators. While some bills are industry specific, others impact all in ag, so working with this coalition provides a broader network of support. Each week, the Texas Farm Bureau provides a bill tracking summary of proposed legislation impacting ag to Council members. TAA will be added to the website next week after the coordinating group’s annual conference.

Input Submitted to TCEQ on Small Business Burdens

In January, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) contacted TAA at the request of the Governor for input on rules, permits, fees and regulations that may hamper small businesses’ formation, operation and growth. TAA responded with this letter,however, many additional issues could have been raised with more time. The request was received on a Friday afternoon and the deadline for submission was the immediate following Monday. We will stay in contact with TCEQ for future opportunities to engage and provide additional feedback.

TAA is Now On Social Media – Please follow, “like” and send some photos to help!

Please follow TAA on LinkedIn, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) and like our posts when you can! I want to build awareness of Texas aquaculture and TAA, so please help us reach people where they find their news and information – on social media! I haven’t been able to post a lot yet, but plan to make our sites more active. If you have photos to share that I can post to help better showcase our amazing community, please email them – or DM me via social media – with them. I only have a few but Texas aquaculture is so amazing and vast, I want to showcase all sectors. Also please tag TAA when you post – we’ll help each other.

That’s all for now, but TAA will plan to do a monthly update so thanks for reading today and for helping us build more awareness about this amazing world of aquaculture! Contact me anytime if you have questions or need assistance.

Kay Johnson Smith
Executive Director
Texas Aquaculture Association
(703)346-2953

Building Future Opportunities

January 27 – 29, 2025
Bauer Community Center
Port Lavaca, TX

View Agenda

Become a Sponsor

Conference Includes:

• Dynamic Presentations
• President’s Reception
• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Banquet
• Tours: Homegrown Seafood & Palacios Marine Agricultural Research Center

Topics Include:

• State of aquaculture & current issues
• Advancements in marine species reproduction
• Aquaculture economics
• Feeding strategies/advancements in fish nutrition
• Emerging diseases
• State hatchery stock enhancement review
• Oyster mariculture & growth in Texas
• Restoration of oyster reefs
• Emerging research and technology
• Insights on seafood from a chef’s perspective

Contact: texasaquaculture@gmail.com

This Tide-to-Table Profile features David Aparicio, an oyster farmer demonstrating resilience in Palacios, Texas.

Hurricane Beryl devastated parts of Texas’ coast, including DJ’s Oyster Company in Matagorda Bay, owned by David Aparicio. His newly established oyster farm was destroyed, resulting in the loss of 100 oyster cages, although his larger, established plot remained intact. Despite the challenges posed by increasingly intense storms, Aparicio remains committed to oyster farming—a sector only recently legalized in Texas (2019). The industry supports the environment and local communities by filtering water and providing year-round jobs.

Aparicio comes from a family of Gulf shrimpers but pivoted to oyster farming after the pandemic impacted the shrimp industry. Encouraged by his father to try something new, he partnered with Texas Sea Grant and Palacios Marine Agriculture Research, learning the ropes and becoming the third licensed oyster farmer in Texas by 2022.

DJ’s Oysters, known for producing the distinctive “Matagorda Pearls”—small, flavorful oysters perfect for eating raw—has gained a reputation across major Texas and Gulf cities. Aparicio, who prioritizes sustainable growth, is passionate about educating the public on the dedication and challenges behind oyster farming. He celebrates the unique qualities of each farmed oyster and hopes for growing consumer appreciation for locally and sustainably produced shellfish.

Read more

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Oyster Resource and Recovery Center (ORRC) at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is a workforce development initiative funded by the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. New this summer, the ORRC has launched an online platform to provide free courses to those interested in oyster farming, a new industry in Texas with a strong demand for a trained labor force. Designed to be easily accessible and self-paced, the courses contribute to an industry that will aim to support sustainable year-round oyster production in coastal states, particularly Texas, where oyster fisheries have been in decline due to harvest pressure, environmental stressors, and disease. The online program is the first of its kind in the state and was made in consultation with key industry stakeholders. A Spanish-language version of the program will roll out in the coming months.

“This program is going to kickstart the oyster farming industry in Texas and provide training for the next generation of oystermen and women,” said Ellis Chapman, ORRC Program Manager. “By fostering a trained workforce through these courses, we aim to stabilize and grow oyster populations, ultimately benefiting both the ecosystem and economy in Texas’ coastal regions.”

Oysters serve as a major economic driver for coastal communities in Texas, as they are a valuable habitat for sportfish, remove nitrogen and carbon from coastal waters, and help stabilize shorelines. Unfortunately, due to recent events including major hurricanes, pollution, and variability in rainfall, yields from the Texas oyster fishery have been historically unpredictable. Through managed oyster aquaculture, oyster populations can become more sustainable and provide valuable ecosystem and economic services to communities.

With the passing of legislation in 2019, Texas became the last coastal state in the U.S. to allow oyster farming. The first oyster farm permit was issued in 2021 and oyster farming is quickly becoming an up-and-coming industry in Texas.

“This program is important for Texas because it will allow future farmers to learn how to set up, operate, and maintain an oyster farm for years to come,” said David Aparicio, owner of DJ’s Oyster Company in Palacios, Texas, the third permitted oyster farm in Texas.

The new program includes three courses: Oyster Hatchery, Oyster Farming, and Business Development. Other services offered by the ORRC include paid work experience opportunities on an oyster farm or in an oyster hatchery for a limited number of individuals upon completion of the online courses and bi-annual oyster farming education workshops. The website also features an interactive map showing locations of current Texas oyster farms as well as Texas restaurants that serve fresh Texas-farmed oysters.

Visit the New Site

Overcoming Barriers to Expanding Aquaculture in Texas

Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi,

University Center, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412

Workshop Goals:

• Characterize the status of aquaculture at the state and national levels.
• Identify actions that facilitate responsible expansion in terms of policy or legislation.
• Develop a strategy for educating and training an aquaculture workforce.
• Identify priorities for research, technology, and market development.

Expected Outcome: A roadmap leading to sustainable expansion of aquaculture in Texas.

Monday January 22, 2024

8:00     Registration

8:30     Welcome and Opening Remarks    

Ahmed Mahdy, Vice-President for Research, Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Janet Donaldson, Associate Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Jim Ekstrom, President, Ekstrom Aquaculture, LLC

Penny Riggs, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

8:45     Status of Texas Aquaculture

Fritz Jaenike, Executive Director, Texas Aquaculture Association

9:15     Status of U.S. Aquaculture

Sebastian Belle, Executive Director, Maine Aquaculture Association

Session 1 – Opportunities

9:45     Opportunities for Offshore Aquaculture

Ken Riley, Chief, Science Branch, NOAA Fisheries

10:15   Opportunities for Shellfish Aquaculture

Chris Hollenbeck, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

10:45   Break

11:00   Aquaponics

Joe Masabni, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

11:30   Species of Interest

            Todd Sink, Associate Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

12:00   Lunch                                                                                                                                    

Kent Satterlee, Executive Director, Gulf Offshore Research Institute & CEO, Blue Silo Aquaculture

1:00   Development of Aquaculture Markets

Lindy Zaleski, H-E-B Seafood Procurement – Business Development Manager

1:30     Aquaculture Research and Technology Transfer

Caird Rexroad, National Program Leader for Aquaculture, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Session 2 – Challenges

2:00     Responsible Growth/Engaging NGOs/Social License

Sebastian Belle, Executive Director, Maine Aquaculture Association

2:30    Meeting Regulatory Requirements for US Aquaculture

Carole Engle, Owner, Engle-Stone Aquatic$

3:00   Break (15 min)

3:15    Aquaculture Economics and Marketing Priorities

Shraddha Hegde, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

3:45     Investing in Aquaculture

Max Holtzman, Principal, Ocean14 Capital

4:15     Labor and Workforce Development

Christian Brayden, Project Manager, Maine Aquaculture Association

5:00     Texas Aquaculture Association Business Meeting (Optional)

7:00     Dinner – El Camino restaurant, 314 N Chaparral Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, catered by Water Street Oyster Bar

Brad Lomax, Owner, Water Street Oyster Bar

Tuesday January 23, 2024

Session 2 – Challenges (continued)

8:00     Barriers to expansion of Catfish/Redfish/Hybrid Striped Bass- research &

            technology needs

            Todd Sink (moderator), Mark Kubecka (Homegrown Seafood), Jim Ekstrom (Ekstrom Aquaculture), Shane Nicaud (Gulf States Aquaculture), Chase Holub (Holub Fish LLC), Darrell Bowers (5B Farms)

8:30     Generating State and Federal Level Support

Paul Zajicek, Executive Director, National Aquaculture Association

9:00     Water Rights/ Land Availability & Cost and Long-term Sustainability

Jim Ekstrom (Ekstrom Aquaculture)

9:30     Aquaculture Extension Panel

Todd Sink (moderator), Mario Marquez (Aquaculture Specialist, Texas Sea Grant), Michael Schwarz (Director, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center), Jimmy Avery (Extension Professor & USDA SRAC Director, Mississippi State University), Dennis McIntosh (Professor and Extension Specialist, Delaware State University)

10:30   break                                           

Session 3 – Solutions

10:45   Seafood Processing Discussion – Any needs/limitations?  Opportunities?

            Penny Riggs (moderator)

11:00   Breakout Groups – Working Discussions

Attendees will form small groups centered around workshop goals.

What did we miss, what changes are needed?

What are the barriers, what are the solutions to outline in the roadmap?

12:00   Working Lunch – Summarize and Close

            Breakout sessions will continue into lunch. Groups will report

2:00     Tours – Texas A&M AgriLife oyster research facility and TPWD fish hatchery or

            Texas Oyster Company.

4:00     Tours Conclude

Wednesday January 24, 2024

8:00 – 3:00 Optional Farm Tours (weather permitting)– Fish Farms and PMAR Shellfish     

                   Research Facility, Palacios, TX

Bowers & Saha redfish and Hybrid Stiped Bass farms and Palacios Marine Agriculture Research Facility.