Economics

Galveston Bay plays a crucial role in the economic health of the Houston Metropolitan Area. Galveston Bay assets contribute billions of dollars to the region's economy and supports employment of tens of thousands of people through several key water-based industries such as recreational and commercial fishing , shellfish harvesting, and tourism. It's ports, transportation industries, and proximity to rich petroleum reserves in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and South America, form the core of its economy. The pleasantry of having a coastal treasure nearby attracts people to the region. Our region's prosperity is dependent on Galveston Bay's viability.

But the Bay does more than support the human and environmental infrastructure that drives our economy. It provides seafood, recreation, peace and solitude. People come from all over the country to go fishing in Galveston Bay, and from all over the world to witness the great migrations of hundreds of species of migratory birds, which travel along three of North America's flyways through the Galveston Bay area. The Bay and watershed offers other recreational opportunities, from swimming on clean beaches or canoeing in tree shaded bayous to capturing glimpses of rare piping plovers and Attwater prairie chickens, or seeing the graceful dance of a dolphin from the Bolivar ferry. The Bay enhances the quality of life of those living around it.

Galveston Bay has supported economic growth in the region and is surrounded by one of the most urbanized and industrialized areas in Texas and the nation. Resources in the Galveston Bay watershed have been utilized for construction, transportation, oil, gas and petrochemical production, water supply, fisheries, agriculture and recreational uses.

Port of Houston is the largest port in the U.S., based on foreign tonnage, and the 2nd largest in domestic tonnage. It is the 6th largest port in the world.

Travel dollars within the watershed exceeded $4.2 billion in 1994.

About 90,000 registered pleasure boats and the 3rd highest concentration of privately-owned marinas in the U. S.

Contributes one-third of the state's commercial fishing income and over one-half of the state's recreational fishing expenditures.

Shrimp accounts for nearly half the total Galveston Bay seafood harvest. Between 1994 and 1998, the annual commercial bay harvest of shrimp averaged near 7 million pounds.

Blue crab is a popular seafood species found along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. More blue crabs are commercially harvested in Galveston Bay than in any other Texas estuary, approximately one-third of the state total.

Galveston Bay produces more oysters than any single water body in the United States, and rivals the combined production of Louisiana and Washington.

Recreational activities include duck hunting, saltwater fishing, swimming, nature viewing, pleasure boating, camping, picnicking, and sightseeing). Ecotourism, or tourism that is based on nature rather than man-made attractions is the tourist industry's most rapidly expanding sector. Birding has become a very popular outdoor activity along the Texas Coast. Chambers County is visited by tourists primarily for natural attractions such as bird watching at High Island or wildlife viewing at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. There are many stops around Galveston Bay on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which links 500 miles of coastal bird viewing sites from Brownsville to Beaumont.

See more information on Galveston Bay economics in Chapter Four of The State of the Bay and in GBEP Partner Resources.