page_title: Aransas Bay
section_title: Ecosystem
hierarchical_section_title: Aransas Bay / Ecosystem
caption_attribution_description: Brown Pelican, Fulton Harbor, Fulton, Texas
context_page_description: Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast, approximately 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, and 173 miles south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José 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. Aransas Bay is part of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve.
  Aransas Bay is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. 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.
context_section_description: 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, Oysters and crabs 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's and other birds' survival depends on the availability of blue crab. Thousands of crab traps have been removed to preserve the population.
caption: Brown pelican flying over Fulton harbor
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