Fishing boat captain Benny Vasquez picks his way through the mangroves Saturday morning with a nearly full plastic litter bag to fish out bits of trash from the muddy vegetation by State Highway 48.
It’s been nearly two hours since the RGV Fishing Area And Waterway Cleanups event started at Jaime J. Zapata Memorial Boat Ramp, and already he’s left ten full bags dotting the roadside behind him.
“There’s a lot of trash here,” he said, shaking his head at the mangroves.
“It’s a shame, but sometimes it slips, and then you lose something out the window—or the wind catches it,” he said of the vehicles passing by.
Contemplating the stretch of water in front of him, Vasquez says there is a responsibility that comes with having access to places like this. “There are not many places we can go. We need to take care of what we’ve got,” he said.
Volunteers like Vasquez are part of an ongoing effort by RGV Fishing Area And Waterway Cleanups to engage volunteers from fishermen to youth groups through these events to help keep our coastal and inner waterways clear of litter and debris throughout the Valley.
The events aren’t all just hard work as founder Richard Hitchcox tries to add some fun by holding raffle giveaways with the help of local sponsors and providing lunch and snacks for his hardworking crew during the event.
The organization usually brings a group of volunteers out to clean up the boat ramp every month to month-and-a-half, along with the nearby Shrimp Basin, Brownsville Ship Channel and other fishing spots along this stretch of highway.
EMR International Shipbreaking donated two dumpsters to the group’s endeavors, which Hitchcox says has saved his nonprofit about $1,000 for the event.
In a cleanup from a month ago, the group amassed one-and-a-half dumpsters full of trash and litter totaling over 2,000 pounds. Hitchcox expects that Saturday’s cleanup will be much the same.
Most of the litter volunteers find at the boat ramp is what you’d expect— such as old fishing lines, bottles and cans. Once you get out to the Shrimp Basin and Brownsville Ship Channel, volunteers find items like illegally dumped construction materials, washed-up trash from deeper waters and other flotsam from passing ships.
“October, next month, will be when everybody starts catching black drum out at the Brownsville Ship Channel. I wanted to do this before all the fishermen go out there.” Hitchcox said.
Lovers of the sport, like Jorge Rodriguez of Real Muddy Fishing group—brought his children Sophia, 7, and Jorgie, 10, to help clean up the area, appreciate the care given to the places he wants to share with his children and the ability to keep it clean for others.
“It feels awesome because they get to spend time with their dad while also learning about the community and helping. Then when they are older, they can bring their kids and do the same thing,” Rodriguez said.
