post 1 (of 17)

The U.S coastline along the Gulf of Mexico thrives mostly in part because it’s proximity to the gulf itself, with a total shoreline of over 16,000 miles (in the U.S alone!)

Millions of marine creatures call this place there home, including 49 different species of sharks, and an extensive coral reef system that supports over 6,000 different species of fish.

post 2

The gulf is mainly able to sustain such a large fish population due it it’s coral reef’s. This is why the Gulf of Mexico supports the largest fishing industry in the U.S, a $630 million yearly industry!

Mackerel

Grouper

And most of all, shrimp.

 

 

 

• Fisheries

  Gulf fisheries are some of the most productive in the world. In 2010 according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the commercial fish and shellfish harvest from the five U.S. Gulf states was estimated to be 1.3 billion pounds valued at $639 million. The Gulf also contains four of the top seven fishing ports in the nation by weight. The Gulf of Mexico has eight of the top twenty fishing ports in the nation by dollar value.

  Shrimp: Gulf landings of shrimp led the Nation in 2010 with 177.2 million pounds valued at $340 million dockside, accounting for about 82% of U.S. total. Texas led all Gulf states with 77.0 million pounds; Louisiana with 74.1 million pounds; Florida (west coast) with 11.8 Alabama with 10.0 million pounds; and Mississippi with 4.1 million pounds.

  Oysters: The Gulf led in production of oysters in 2010 with 15.7 million pounds of meats valued at $54.5 million and representing 59% of the national total.

  Recreational: The Gulf also supports a productive recreational fishery. In 2010, marine recreational participants took more than 20.7 million trips catching 145.4 million fish from the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding waters. The total weigh in pounds was over 59.3 million in 2010.

 

 

 

post 3

The gulf has thousands of miles of pristine beaches, contributing to a $20 billion a year tourist industry in the U.S.

Pensacola, Florida

 

Things To Do in Pensacola

The Pensacola Bay Area is an activity-packed destination featuring culture, outdoor adventure, fine museums, attractions and 52 miles of beaches. Whether you’re an art enthusiast, birdwatcher, golfer, foodie or a shopaholic, you’ll find your niche in the Pensacola Bay Area.

Since this seems to be the thing to do on social media all of a sudden, I figured I’d start a thread here in /r/Pensacola for our local redditors. Since we’re anonymous, I figured this thread could be more interesting than most of the lame stuff posted on FB.

I’ll start.

EDIT (because I like this one better): I’m so Pensacola I regularly bait ignorant hot-rod tourists into racing me across the 3 mile bridge, and graciously let them beat me by safe distance once nearing Gulf Breeze.

I’m so Pensacola I helped form and directed the blockade against Westboro Baptist Church last year when a few of Westboro’s members attempted to picket the funeral of a local fallen soldier (Staff Sergeant Thomas). The unity and strength I saw from the menagerie of Pensacolians who showed up that day (about 1500) convinced me of 2 things: 1, when it’s citizens unite as one, the will & spirit of Pensacola is unbreakable and 2, even though we differ widely when it comes to religion and politics, we vigorously protect our own when threatened by outsiders.

Now you try 🙂 Cheers!

 

 

 

post 4

Garner Bell ‏@garnerbell  Oct 29Louisiana, US

Lagniappe. Overjoyed to be able to experience this part of God’s creation. #redfish @ Grande Isle, LA http://instagram.com/p/uvwtXarR_5/

The island also has well maintained beaches. Grand Isle State Park, on the east end of the island, is the only state-owned and operated beach on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. The beach is a popular destination for people living in South Louisiana. In 2010, Yahoo Travel named Grand Isle one of America’s Top 10 winter beach retreats. In 2011, Yahoo travel names Grand Isle one of the Top 5 island getaways.

  

 

post 5

So when the Deepwater Horizon Spill (also known as the BP oil spill) began on April 20th, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, there was certain to be extremely negative consequences.

The largest spill in U.S history, there was 4.9 millions barrels discharged into the gulf.

                               

Post 6

Corral reefs off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

San Souci Beach, Alabama

Grand Isle, Louisiana

 

Empty nets in Louisiana three years after the spill

By Matt Smith, CNN

updated 3:43 PM EDT, Mon April 29, 2013

Yscloskey, Louisiana (CNN) — On his dock along the banks of Bayou Yscloskey, Darren Stander makes the pelicans dance.

More than a dozen of the birds have landed or hopped onto the dock, where Stander takes in crabs and oysters from the fishermen who work the bayou and Lake Borgne at its mouth.

“Guys running five or six hundred traps are coming in with two to three boxes, if that,” said Stander, 26.

post 7

Massive Coral Die-Off Found Just 7 Miles from BP Oil Spill Sit

By Andrew Moseman | November 8, 2010 9:44 am

The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico brought us those gut-wrenching pictures of pelicans covered in oil, but up to now there have been mercifully few reports of the disaster causing specific large-scale damage to the Gulf environment. That may be beginning to change: This week oceanographers report a vast swath of coralabout seven miles southwest of the Deepwater Horizon site that are coated in brownish-black gunk and dying off. The team says the evidence points to the oil spill as the culprit.

 

Long Term Impacts  http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Protect-Habitat/Gulf-Restoration/Oil-Spill/Effects-on-Wildlife.aspx

• Sick Dolphins – As part of the official investigation into impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, a team of scientists did comprehensive physicals on dolphins in Barataria Bay in 2011, a heavily-oiled area of the Louisiana coast. Nearly half the dolphins studied were very ill; 17 percent of the dolphins were not expected to survive.
• Sea Turtles Stranding at 5x Normal Rates – Data from the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network indicates that between 1986 and 2009, an average of nearly 100 sea turtles were found stranded annually in the oil spill area. Since the spill, each year roughly 500 sea turtles have been found stranded, most of which were the very endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.
• Unbalanced Food Web – The Gulf oil disaster hit at the peak breeding season for many species of fish and wildlife. The oil’s toxicity may have hit egg and larval organisms immediately, diminishing or even wiping out those age classes. Without these generations, population dips and cascading food web effects may become evident in the years ahead.
• Decreased Fish and Wildlife Populations – Scientists will be watching fluctuations in wildlife populations for years to come. It wasn’t until four years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil disaster that the herring population collapsed. Twenty years later, it is still has not recovered.
• Decline in Recreation – The Gulf Coast states rely heavily on commercial fishing and outdoor recreation to sustain their local economies. According to NOAA, commercial fisheries brought in $659 million in shellfish and finfish in 2008, and just over 3 million people took recreational fishing tripsin the Gulf that year. After the spill, recreational fishing from the Atchafalaya Delta to Mobile Bay was shut down from May to August, and state park closures dealt a serious blow to the parks’ summer revenue.

Link to photos of aftermath.

http://www.aquariusnation.com/the-truth-of-the-bp-oil-spill/the-oil-and-the-corexit-is-killing-everything-in-its-path-truth

Despite serious health issues, thousands have flocked to the polluted beaches to do whatever they can.