DEER PARK, Texas – At Katie’s Seafood Market in Galveston, workers have been selling freshly caught seafood for more than 25 years, and right now business is booming.
For Nick Gutierrez, manager at Katie’s, his whole life has revolved around the sea life that thrives in Galveston Bay, one of the most important fisheries in the country.
But now, days after a massive fire erupted at the Shell Chemical Plant in Deer Park, Nick is very concerned about the wastewater runoff from that fire that Shell has been funneling into the Houston Ship Channel. At times, the water was being pushed into the ship channel at the rate of 11,000 gallons a minute.
SEE ALSO: 9 contractors released from hospital after Shell Chemical Plant fire in Deer Park
Shell stopped the discharging of that wastewater into the channel on Monday but started it back up again.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced in a tweet, “We are aware that Shell restarted its discharging of wastewater into our ship channel in light of the rain. We’re verifying that regulations are followed and that this is the best possible course of action.”
We are aware that Shell restarted its discharge of wastewater into our Ship Channel in light of the rain. We're verifying that regulations are followed and that this is the best possible course of action. See water & air quality samples we are collecting @ https://t.co/ainGTARVaX
— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) May 9, 2023
Nick, whose two brothers are both fishermen in the seafood industry, says he fears any kind of harmful effect, especially on the shrimp population in Galveston Bay, would be devastating to local shrimpers.
“I’m hoping everything is going to be OK, and it’s not going to kill tons of shrimp and fish and oysters. The shrimpers need to land every bit of shrimp they can right now. They are already struggling. They don’t need any of this,” Nick said.
Also watching the situation closely are A.J. Forasiedi and his friend June Lee who both live in Galveston and practically live off of fresh seafood.
“I’m afraid eventually it’s going to affect the fish in Galveston Bay. I don’t want it to, but I’m afraid it will,” said A.J.
Shell officials said they are continually doing water testing in the area along with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Harris County Pollution Control.
SEE ALSO: Fire reignites at Shell Chemical Plant in Deer Park