Shrimp, crabs, redfish, oysters and other species use all the estuaries' resources to produce the huge numbers we harvest for both commercial and recreational purposes. These species are adapted to use the marshes, nutrients and salinity gradients provided by freshwater inflows, and dominate life in our estuaries. In order to comprehend the complex nature of an estuary, think of it as a factory whose products are the seafood and recreation we enjoy. The energy that drives the estuary is primarily the sun, but freshwater inflow is the mechanism that transports the raw materials to the factory. This inflow initiates the fundamental chemical and physical reactions that begin to convert these materials into finished products.
Estuaries provide far more than just a recreational and commercial fishing industry.
A healthy estuary can assimilate huge amounts of our waste products. It takes about half of the bay to provide this benefit. Not coincidentally, that much of Galveston Bay is closed to shellfish harvest because of pollution. No one wants to see estuaries turn into sewage ponds. People want to live on their shores.