Editor’s note: a press kit is available for media with materials including stocking video, photos and more at https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/media-kits/billionth-fish-release-media-kit/.

LAKE JACKSON—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division released the billionth hatchery-produced fingerling into Texas coastal waters.

The fish was raised by TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Enhancement Program as part of a decades-long effort by the department to ensure coastal fisheries are sustainable and abundant for generations to come.

Billie the Billionth, a name suggested and voted on by the public in anticipation of this incredible achievement, was released along with thousands of other fingerlings at an event this morning at a boat ramp on Christmas Bay in Freeport. The billionth fish is red drum fingerling (one-to-two inch fish), one of the most sought-after game fish in the state that has seen record-high populations, thanks to successful fishery management.

This milestone, four decades in the making, is made possible thanks to the sustained beneficial partnerships with the Coastal Conservation Association, DOW Chemical, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, the S.E.A., Phillips 66, anglers who’ve purchased their saltwater fishing licenses in Texas, and funding from the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Program (the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950).

“We are proud to celebrate this historic milestone with the people of Texas and shed light on the work biologists and technicians have put in to keep these fisheries healthy,” said Robin Riechers, director of TPWDs Coastal Fisheries Division. “Coastal Fisheries staff have been stocking saltwater fish into Texas bays since the 1980s to revitalize historic fisheries and speed up the recovery of overfished stocks. TPWD’s long withstanding history of implementing strategic fishery management practices have helped keep fish stocks healthy and sustainable for Texas anglers. We could not have reached the stocking of the billionth fish without the support of Texas’ anglers, our partners and staff.”

The Coastal Fisheries Enhancement Program, which consists of three marine hatcheries, made routine stocking fish into Texas coastal waters a reality. Strategically spread along the Texas coast, TPWD’s marine hatcheries include: the Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research Station located in Palacios, the Marine Development Center in Corpus Christi, and Sea Center Texas located in Lake Jackson.

Fingerlings are stocked coastwide from Sabine Lake to the Lower Laguna Madre. Species that are stocked include red drum, spotted seatrout and southern flounder.

“Fish stocking gives us a tool that complements our fisheries monitoring programs and allows us to help mother nature when need be,” said Christopher Mace, the Marine Development Center’s Enhancement Director. “For example, our enhancement efforts after winter storm Uri, which focused on spotted seatrout, highlights those complementary efforts.”

For more information about TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division, including stocking information, hatcheries and more, visit  https://tpwd.texas.gov/about/administration-divisions/coastal-fisheries.

Information about Sea Center Texas can be found at https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishing/sea-center-texas/.