They've traveled up and down the Texas coast, from Galveston Island to South Padre Island. This is their first trip to Rockport, but certainly not the last. I just feel more comfortable letting my girls go in the water here. The Lone Star State's location, with Gulf winds and currents that come directly onshore, is tough on Texas beaches. Add looser environmental laws, hundreds of offshore drilling rigs and shrimp boats, and the result is mounds of trash.
Scientists believe the majority of trash is related to the shrimping and petrochemical industries.
Residents in Rockport have tried to fight back with a combination of civic duty and hefty bags. Harbor superintendent Wilson McBride sends crews out daily to fish trash from the waters. He says local laws are tougher on shorefront property owners and boaters, but floating debris knows no bounds. The town's decision to clean their beach up was partly economic. Since Gen. Zachary Taylor stopped here in 1845 to place the flag claiming Texas as the 28th state in the Union, Rockport has changed from a ranching community to a fishing port to an oil-driven economy.