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AUSTIN — Of 545 available oyster licenses, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) received 115 commercial oyster boat license offers in round nine of its Oyster License Buyback Program, which, if all applicants participate, would represent a reduction by 21 percent of total oyster licenses in the state.
TPWD administers voluntary commercial fishing license buyback programs for inshore shrimp, crab and finfish fisheries, all of which have had a license moratorium since 2005 or earlier.
TPWD received authority for oyster license buyback from the Texas Legislature in 2017 and held the first buyback for oyster licenses in 2018. After several years of limited success in purchasing oyster licenses, TPWD changed the approach with the help of key partners. This round offered a fixed rate for the licenses instead of a reverse bid process used in past buyback rounds.
