Aransas Bay
Encyclopedia
Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas
gulf coast, approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Corpus Christi
, and 173 miles (278.4 km) south of San Antonio
. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico
by San José Island (also referred to as St. Joseph Island). Aransas Pass
is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay. The cities of Aransas Pass
and Port Aransas are located at the southern end, and Rockport
is found on the central western shore. The bay is oriented laterally northeast-southwest, and is extended by Redfish Bay
to the southwest, Copano Bay
to the west, Saint Charles Bay
to the north, and Mesquite Bay to the northeast.
There is a rich history of settlements on the bay, including: ancient Native American
campgrounds dating back millennia; 19th century European immigrant towns such as Lamar
and Aransas; and the present day cities of Rockport, Fulton
and Aransas Pass. Resources such as shrimp, fish, oysters and oil are found in or near the bay, and contribute to the local economies.
ic Aransas, left the area circa 1200 to 1300 CE. According to archeologists, the Karankawa
s and Coahuiltecan
s arrived in 1400, but had mostly died out by the 1800s due to diseases from European colonists. Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
of Spain
is believed to be the first European to sail the bay, circa 1519. For over a century later, the Spanish had little interest in the area until the French
established a colony in Texas in the late 17th century. At this time, Alonso De León
was ordered to find a settlement in the area, but no permanent colony on the bay was ever established.
During Mexican
control, the bay was put off limits to settlement by the authorities, until an empresario
was granted in 1828, which allowed Irish
and Mexican immigration. In 1832, the settlement of Aransas City
on the bay, was founded by James Power. With the establishment of the nearby port Lamar
in 1840, Aransas City was deserted by 1846. But Lamar soon met a similar fate, after being burnt to the ground during the American Civil War
. The city of Aransas, which was founded around the same time as Lamar, on San Jose Island was also destroyed in the fighting. During the war, the bay was a strategically significant waterway for the transfer of freight, due to its protection by barrier island
s.
As a result of the destruction from the war, the still-thriving ports of Fulton
and Rockport
were founded at the latter part of the 1860s. At first, Rockport was pegged to be a deep-water port, but after a series of mishaps, Aransas Pass was selected when deepening was approved in 1879. By 1912, a 100 feet wide and 8½ feet deep channel was operational, but after hurricanes ransaked the port in 1916 and 1919, Corpus Christi
was chosen over the city by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
as the deepwater port for the lower Gulf coast. The affluent resort of Key Allegro, located between Rockport and Fulton, was founded in the 1960s. By 2000, 24,615 people lived in the surrounding Aransas County
, including the cities of Rockport, Fulton, Aransas Pass and the unincorporated Key Allegro, Holiday Beach
and Estes. The outer Refugio County located on the shore of Copano Bay, had 7,828 residents.
Every second, approximately 28 cubed meters of water flows into the bay. The exchange with the Gulf of Mexico occurs at Cedar Bayou
and Aransas Pass
. As a result of the seawater exchange, the bay's salinity is 15 parts per thousand, compared to the seawater average of 35 ppt. This discrepancy is brought about by the volume of fresh water that empties into the bay and its extensions, from Copano Creek, Mission River
and Aransas River
, forming the Mission-Aransas estuary
. Fresh water flows also arrive from the impact of the Guadalupe River
on San Antonio Bay
. Combined, the fresh water influence is 60 to 70 percent of the system's volume, which is judged to be minimal.
Texas State Highway 35 runs parallel to the shore of Aransas Bay on its route from Corpus Christi to Houston
. The highway includes the 1.5 mile long Copano Bay causeway, which connects the Live Oak and Lamar peninsulas at the confluence of Copano and Aransas Bays. The first causeway was constructed in 1933, but was replaced in 1966 with the Lyndon Baines Johnson causeway. The former causeway was transformed into a fishing pier
in later years. In 1981, nearly 10,000 vehicles passed over the bridge on a daily basis.
A wide variety of wildlife can be found in and around Aransas Bay. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the following fish have been caught in the bay: Catfish
, Black Drum
, Red Drum
, Eel
, Southern flounder
, Crevalle jack
, Yellowtail amberjack
, Ladyfish, Silver Perch
, Pigfish
, Pinfish, Sea Trout, Blacktip shark
, Bull shark
, Sheepshead
, Mangrove snapper
, Common snook
and Toadfish. Shrimp
, Oyster
s and crab
s also reside in the waters. The sea grass carpets found at numerous locations, provide a habitat and an ideal place for fish to spawn. The grasses also act as a filter, clearing the bay of environmental contaminants.
Many birds migrate to the area around Aransas Bay, most notably to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
. Year round residents include Least Grebe
, Brown Pelican
, Neotropic Cormorant
, White-faced Ibis
, Roseate Spoonbill
, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck
, White-tailed Hawk
, Crested Caracara
, Pauraque
, Golden-fronted Woodpecker
, Great Kiskadee
, Green Jay
, Long-billed Thrasher
, Olive Sparrow
, Seaside Sparrow
, and Bronzed Cowbird
. The endangered Whooping Crane
has also been spotted near the bay. Despite the fact that there were only 15 in 1900, over 180 are found in the wild today. The Whooping Crane and other bird's survival depends on the availability of blue crab. Thousands of crab traps have been removed to preserve the population.
s were constructed. In the early years of meatpacking, cattle
were slaughtered strictly for their hide since there was no way to refrigerate the meat. As a result, most of the left over cow parts not used as pig feed, were disposed in the bay. This changed in 1871, when an ice machine was installed in a packing plant. By this time, the meatpacking industry near Aransas Bay reached its prime. Prior to the decline of the industry in the area, in 1880, 93% of the beef from Texas slaughterhouses were processed in Rockport-Fulton. Along with fishing, oyster farming
and most notably shrimping became major industries on the bay in the early 20th century. Shipbuilding
also developed and reached its prime following the first World War
. During World War II
, the United States Navy
took over several shipyards. In 1936, oil
was discovered on the bay. By 1946, 13 wells were in operation. In 1990, 498,703 barrels were produced, part of the 77 million barrels produced between 1936 and 1990. Today, tourism is a prosperous industry. Numerous hotels are set up along the bay for individuals wanting to fish, bird or sight-see. A large concentration of hotels are located in Rockport, where the bay's only beach (Rockport Beach) is located.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
gulf coast, approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, and 173 miles (278.4 km) south of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
by San José Island (also referred to as St. Joseph Island). Aransas Pass
Aransas Pass
The second lighthouse in Texas was built at Aransas Pass by the United States government to protect shipping in Aransas Bay.Aransas Pass was originally pictured as becoming a major Texas hub of commerce and travel with rail links to the harbor and harbor links by ships to Mexico, New York and other...
is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay. The cities of Aransas Pass
Aransas Pass, Texas
Aransas Pass is a city in Aransas, Nueces, and San Patricio counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 8,138 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Aransas Pass is located at ....
and Port Aransas are located at the southern end, and Rockport
Rockport, Texas
Rockport is a city in Aransas County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,385 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Aransas County. The coastal community has approximately 8000 citizens. Large windswept live oaks are a dominating feature of the area and the state's oldest live oak,...
is found on the central western shore. The bay is oriented laterally northeast-southwest, and is extended by Redfish Bay
Redfish Bay
Redfish Bay is a southwestern extension of Aransas Bay in Texas, north of Corpus Christi Bay. It separates the cities of Aransas Pass and Ingleside from Port Aransas on Mustang Island.-Features:...
to the southwest, Copano Bay
Copano Bay
Copano Bay is a northwestern extension of Aransas Bay, west of Rockport, Texas in Refugio and Aransas counties. It is supplied with seawater from the Gulf of Mexico via Aransas Bay, and fed freshwater from the Aransas River, Mission River and Copano Creek...
to the west, Saint Charles Bay
Saint Charles Bay
St. Charles Bay is an inlet of Aransas Bay in Aransas County, Texas. It is flanked by Lamar peninsula on the west and Blackjack peninsula on the east. The bay hosts a valued ecosystem for the endangered Whooping Crane, and is a prime location for birding and fishing...
to the north, and Mesquite Bay to the northeast.
There is a rich history of settlements on the bay, including: ancient Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
campgrounds dating back millennia; 19th century European immigrant towns such as Lamar
Lamar, Texas
Lamar is a small, unincorporated community in Aransas County, Texas , ten miles north of Rockport and forty miles north of Corpus Christi. The community was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas....
and Aransas; and the present day cities of Rockport, Fulton
Fulton, Texas
Fulton is a town in Aransas County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, this South Texas coastal fishing community had a population of 1,553...
and Aransas Pass. Resources such as shrimp, fish, oysters and oil are found in or near the bay, and contribute to the local economies.
History
Humans first inhabited the area surrounding Aransas Bay approximately 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. The name itself derives from a group of people called the Aransas Indians, whose 4,000 year old campsites have been found near the bay. The nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic Aransas, left the area circa 1200 to 1300 CE. According to archeologists, the Karankawa
Karankawa
Karankawa were a group of Native American peoples, now extinct as a tribal group, who played a pivotal part in early Texas history....
s and Coahuiltecan
Coahuiltecan
Coahuiltecan or Paikawa was a proposed language family in John Wesley Powell's 1891 classification of Native American languages that consisted of Coahuilteco and Cotoname. The proposal was expanded to include Comecrudo, Karankawa, and Tonkawa...
s arrived in 1400, but had mostly died out by the 1800s due to diseases from European colonists. Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda was a Spanish explorer and cartographer. His map marks the first document in Texas history.-Expedition:The Spanish thought there must be a sea lane from the Gulf of Mexico to Asia...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
is believed to be the first European to sail the bay, circa 1519. For over a century later, the Spanish had little interest in the area until the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
established a colony in Texas in the late 17th century. At this time, Alonso De León
Alonso De León
Alonso de León wasexplorer and governor, who led several expeditions into the area that is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.-Early life:...
was ordered to find a settlement in the area, but no permanent colony on the bay was ever established.
During Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
control, the bay was put off limits to settlement by the authorities, until an empresario
Empresario
An empresario was a person who, in the early years of the settlement of Texas, had been granted the right to settle on Mexican land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for new settlers. The word is Spanish for entrepreneur.- Background :...
was granted in 1828, which allowed Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Mexican immigration. In 1832, the settlement of Aransas City
Aransas City, Texas
Aransas City is a ghost town on the tip of the Live Oak Peninsula in Aransas County, Texas near present-day Fulton. It served as a port on Aransas Bay at its confluence with Copano Bay during the 1830s and 1840s, but declined following its loss of a Republic of Texas customhouse to the rival port...
on the bay, was founded by James Power. With the establishment of the nearby port Lamar
Lamar, Texas
Lamar is a small, unincorporated community in Aransas County, Texas , ten miles north of Rockport and forty miles north of Corpus Christi. The community was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas....
in 1840, Aransas City was deserted by 1846. But Lamar soon met a similar fate, after being burnt to the ground during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The city of Aransas, which was founded around the same time as Lamar, on San Jose Island was also destroyed in the fighting. During the war, the bay was a strategically significant waterway for the transfer of freight, due to its protection by barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
s.
As a result of the destruction from the war, the still-thriving ports of Fulton
Fulton, Texas
Fulton is a town in Aransas County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, this South Texas coastal fishing community had a population of 1,553...
and Rockport
Rockport, Texas
Rockport is a city in Aransas County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,385 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Aransas County. The coastal community has approximately 8000 citizens. Large windswept live oaks are a dominating feature of the area and the state's oldest live oak,...
were founded at the latter part of the 1860s. At first, Rockport was pegged to be a deep-water port, but after a series of mishaps, Aransas Pass was selected when deepening was approved in 1879. By 1912, a 100 feet wide and 8½ feet deep channel was operational, but after hurricanes ransaked the port in 1916 and 1919, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
was chosen over the city by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
as the deepwater port for the lower Gulf coast. The affluent resort of Key Allegro, located between Rockport and Fulton, was founded in the 1960s. By 2000, 24,615 people lived in the surrounding Aransas County
Aransas County, Texas
Aransas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 22,499. Its county seat is Rockport. Aransas County was formed in 1871 from Refugio County.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, including the cities of Rockport, Fulton, Aransas Pass and the unincorporated Key Allegro, Holiday Beach
Holiday Beach, Texas
Holiday Beach is an unincorporated community in Aransas County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 1,000 in 2000.-Geography:Holiday Beach is located at...
and Estes. The outer Refugio County located on the shore of Copano Bay, had 7,828 residents.
Features
On average, the Aransas Bay system is 3 meters deep, and covers approximately 539 square kilometers. The system is made up of the bay itself and its extensions. The main extensions include: Saint Charles Bay, to the east of the Lamar peninsula; Copano Bay, to the west of both the Live Oak and Lamar peninsulas, Mesquite Bay to the bay's northeast, and Redfish Bay to the southwest. Redfish Bay is sometimes considered an extension of Corpus Christi Bay.Every second, approximately 28 cubed meters of water flows into the bay. The exchange with the Gulf of Mexico occurs at Cedar Bayou
Cedar Bayou
Cedar Bayou is a salt water channel on the Texas coast that separates San Jose Island from Matagorda Island. The pass serves as a water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the San Antonio, Matagorda and Aransas Bay systems.-History:...
and Aransas Pass
Aransas Pass
The second lighthouse in Texas was built at Aransas Pass by the United States government to protect shipping in Aransas Bay.Aransas Pass was originally pictured as becoming a major Texas hub of commerce and travel with rail links to the harbor and harbor links by ships to Mexico, New York and other...
. As a result of the seawater exchange, the bay's salinity is 15 parts per thousand, compared to the seawater average of 35 ppt. This discrepancy is brought about by the volume of fresh water that empties into the bay and its extensions, from Copano Creek, Mission River
Mission River
The Mission River is a river in Texas. It is formed by the confluence of Blanco and Medio creeks in central Refugio County and runs southeast, past Refugio, for twenty-four miles to its mouth on Mission Bay, an inlet of Copano Bay...
and Aransas River
Aransas River
The Aransas River is a short river in south Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the south Texas coastal plains into the Gulf of Mexico. It rises in Bee County southwest of Beeville and north of Skidmore, from the confluence of three creeks: Olmos, Aransas, and Poesta...
, forming the Mission-Aransas estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
. Fresh water flows also arrive from the impact of the Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River (Texas)
The Guadalupe River runs from Kerr County, Texas to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is a popular destination for rafters and canoers. Larger cities along the river include New Braunfels, Kerrville, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria...
on San Antonio Bay
San Antonio Bay
San Antonio Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf coast situated between Matagorda and Aransas Bay. It consists mainly of the combined waters of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers, and is located at the mouth of the Guadalupe River, about 55 miles northeast of Corpus Christi and 130 miles southeast...
. Combined, the fresh water influence is 60 to 70 percent of the system's volume, which is judged to be minimal.
Texas State Highway 35 runs parallel to the shore of Aransas Bay on its route from Corpus Christi to Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. The highway includes the 1.5 mile long Copano Bay causeway, which connects the Live Oak and Lamar peninsulas at the confluence of Copano and Aransas Bays. The first causeway was constructed in 1933, but was replaced in 1966 with the Lyndon Baines Johnson causeway. The former causeway was transformed into a fishing pier
Copano Bay Fishing Pier
The Copano Bay Fishing Pier is a pier in Aransas County, Texas, United States used primarily for recreational fishing. The pier has two separate sections. One is 2500 feet long on the south side of the bay and the other is 6190 feet, or 1,886.712 meters, long on the north side.The pier was...
in later years. In 1981, nearly 10,000 vehicles passed over the bridge on a daily basis.
Ecosystem
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, Black Drum
Black drum
The Black Drum is a saltwater fish similar to its cousin, the Red Drum. It is the only species in the genus Pogonias. Though most specimens are generally found in the 5-30 lb range, the black drum is well known as the largest of all the drum family with some specimens reaching excesses of...
, Red Drum
Red Drum
The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops...
, Eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
, Southern flounder
Southern flounder
The southern flounders are a small family of flounders found in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. There are six species of southern flounders in four genera....
, Crevalle jack
Crevalle jack
The crevalle jack, Caranx hippos is a common species of large marine fish classified within the jack family, Carangidae...
, Yellowtail amberjack
Yellowtail amberjack
The yellowtail amberjack or great amberjack, Seriola lalandi, is a large fish found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It can be divided into three sub-species: The California yellowtail, Seriola lalandi dorsalis, the southern yellowtail, or in New Zealand and Australia the yellowtail kingfish or...
, Ladyfish, Silver Perch
Silver Perch
Silver perch is a medium sized freshwater fish endemic to the Murray-Darling river system in south-eastern Australia. The scientific name comes from an aboriginal name for the species recorded by Major Mitchell on his 1832 expedition. It is not a perch, being a grunter in the family Terapontidae...
, Pigfish
Pigfish
Pigfish may refer to:* Fishes in the family Congiopodidae* Redmouth grunt, Orthopristis chrysoptera* Golden-spot hogfish, Bodianus perditio* Red pigfish, Bodianus unimaculatus...
, Pinfish, Sea Trout, Blacktip shark
Blacktip shark
The blacktip shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae. It is common to coastal tropical and subtropical waters around the world, including brackish habitats. Genetic analyses have revealed substantial variation within this species, with populations from the western Atlantic Ocean...
, Bull shark
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...
, Sheepshead
Sheepshead (fish)
The sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, is a marine fish that grows to 30 in , but commonly reaches 10 to 20 in. It is deep and compressed in body shape, with 5 to 6 dark bars on the side of the body over a gray background. It has sharp dorsal spines. Its diet consists of oysters, clams, and...
, Mangrove snapper
Mangrove snapper
The mangrove snapper, Lutjanus griseus, is a snapper in the family Lutjanidae. It is also known as the gray snapper, mango snapper, or cabellerote....
, Common snook
Common snook
The common snook is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. This species is native to the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, from southern Florida and Texas...
and Toadfish. Shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, Oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s and crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s also reside in the waters. The sea grass carpets found at numerous locations, provide a habitat and an ideal place for fish to spawn. The grasses also act as a filter, clearing the bay of environmental contaminants.
Many birds migrate to the area around Aransas Bay, most notably to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 114,657 acre protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun counties. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive...
. Year round residents include Least Grebe
Least Grebe
The Least Grebe , an aquatic bird, is the smallest member of the grebe family. It occurs in the New World from the southwestern United States and Mexico to Chile and Argentina, and also on Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles.-Description:The Least Grebe ranges in length from...
, Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is in length, weighs from and has a wingspan from .-Range and habits:...
, Neotropic Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
The Neotropic Cormorant or Olivaceous Cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the USA south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America. It also breeds on the...
, White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis
The White-faced Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western USA south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to...
, Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill
The Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja, is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae...
, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck
Mottled Duck
The Mottled Duck or Mottled Mallard is a medium-sized dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female Mallard and the American Black Duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of the former, but this is inappropriate .There are two...
, White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
The White-tailed Hawk is a large bird of prey species found in tropical or subtropical environments across the Americas.-Description:...
, Crested Caracara
Crested Caracara
The Northern Caracara, or Crested Caracara as it is properly known where it lives in the Americas, is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Southern Caracara and the extinct Guadalupe Caracara as the "Crested Caracara"...
, Pauraque
Pauraque
The Pauraque – also called the Common Pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, the only bird in the genus Nyctidromus...
, Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
The Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons, is a North American woodpecker. Its preferred habitat is mesquite and riparian woodlands. It is distributed from Texas and Oklahoma in the United States through Mexico to Honduras and northern Nicaragua...
, Great Kiskadee
Great Kiskadee
The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus is considered monotypic, with the Lesser Kiskadee The Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus, is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher; sometimes its genus Pitangus...
, Green Jay
Green Jay
The Green Jay is a bird species of the New World jays, which exhibits distinct regional variations within its large but discontinuous range...
, Long-billed Thrasher
Long-billed Thrasher
The Long-billed Thrasher is a medium-sized resident songbird of South Texas and eastern Mexico.It is slender and long-tailed, averaging 26.5–29 cm in length and about 70 g in weight...
, Olive Sparrow
Olive Sparrow
The Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. Its range includes Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and southern Texas .It is long, and is the only sparrow with an olive back...
, Seaside Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
The Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, is a small American sparrow. The 11 Ammodramus species inhabit marshes and grasslands.Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, and a grayish buff colored breast with dark streaks; they have a dark face with grey cheeks, a white...
, and Bronzed Cowbird
Bronzed Cowbird
The Bronzed Cowbird , Molothrus aeneus, is a small icterid.It breeds from the southern U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana south through Central America to Panama. An isolated population on the Caribbean coast of Colombia is sometimes treated as a separate species,...
. The endangered Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane , the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. Along with the Sandhill Crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild...
has also been spotted near the bay. Despite the fact that there were only 15 in 1900, over 180 are found in the wild today. The Whooping Crane and other bird's survival depends on the availability of blue crab. Thousands of crab traps have been removed to preserve the population.
Industry
Given the location of Aransas bay, shipping has always been a major industry. Following the Civil War, the meatpacking industry became a major source of income for ports on the bay, especially Rockport and Fulton, where numerous slaughterhouseSlaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
s were constructed. In the early years of meatpacking, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
were slaughtered strictly for their hide since there was no way to refrigerate the meat. As a result, most of the left over cow parts not used as pig feed, were disposed in the bay. This changed in 1871, when an ice machine was installed in a packing plant. By this time, the meatpacking industry near Aransas Bay reached its prime. Prior to the decline of the industry in the area, in 1880, 93% of the beef from Texas slaughterhouses were processed in Rockport-Fulton. Along with fishing, oyster farming
Oyster farming
Oyster farming is an aquaculture practice in which oysters are raised for human consumption. Oyster farming most likely developed in tandem with pearl farming, a similar practice in which oysters are farmed for the purpose of developing pearls...
and most notably shrimping became major industries on the bay in the early 20th century. Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
also developed and reached its prime following the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
took over several shipyards. In 1936, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
was discovered on the bay. By 1946, 13 wells were in operation. In 1990, 498,703 barrels were produced, part of the 77 million barrels produced between 1936 and 1990. Today, tourism is a prosperous industry. Numerous hotels are set up along the bay for individuals wanting to fish, bird or sight-see. A large concentration of hotels are located in Rockport, where the bay's only beach (Rockport Beach) is located.