Galveston Bay Satellite Image [Photo:NASA Johnson Space Center]
The Texas coast supports seven major and three minor bay systems for a total of 1,532,430 acres of open water in the bays and estuaries. Commercial and recreational fishing and boating are important economic industries along the Texas coast ranking it as one of the top 10 states in dollar value of commercial fish landed.
The nearshore environment of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most productive and biologically rich ecological areas of the coastal margin of the United States. It is estimated that 98% of all commercial fish landed in the Gulf of Mexico are nearshore (bay/estuary) dependent. Comprised of tidal, subtidal, and freshwater wetland habitats, the nearshore environment of the Gulf of Mexico supports diverse and dynamic communities of organisms in a temperate to tropical climate region.
