CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Our fishing community has some complaints. Lately, there’s been more litter.
Some of it is small.
Some of it is smelly.
“You always see where people catch fish, and they gut it and leave the remains out there,” one local fisherman said. “You’ll see the lines and the hooks lying around.”
Amber Harris goes fishing with her dad often. Today, their casting lines near Flour Bluff, but they usually go to Labonte Park. That’s where Harris has seen more trash left behind.
“That’s kind of dangerous too, like if you have kids running around and they can get their foot stuck in a hook or something,” Harris said.
Quinn Hendrick with Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries said litter like this is very common.
“You lose you're lures out of your boat when you're going down the inner coastal and it ends up floating down to these islands,” Hendrick said.
That’s why, during the summer, Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries will hosts clean ups to pick up litter. In the past they’ve found plastics, bottles, cigarettes and much more.
“We get a lot of traffic and a lot of visitors. That’s creates more of a need to clean up,” Hendrick said.
Hendrick said cleaning up after yourself ultimately helps the ecosystem and improves public access.
"Even if you’re out there picking up after someone else that is not frowned upon at all,” Hendrick said. “Getting out there and leaving things better than you found them.”
Harris makes sure to do that.
“I always have a trash bag where I dump my trash and if there’s no trash can, I’ll it at toss home,” Harris said.
The summer clean-up with Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries is happening August. 26th.
If you'd like to help clean up, you can register here.
