included because they provide important habitat for 

 many euryhaline species. 



Selection of Species. To ensure that important Gulf 

 of Mexico estuarine species were included in the 

 ELMR study, a species list was developed (Table 2) 

 and reviewed by regional experts. Four criteria were 

 used to identify the 44 species entered into the data 

 base: 



1) Commercial value - a species that commercial 

 fishermen specifically try to catch (e.g., gulf menha- 

 den, Brevoortia patronus, and blue crab, Callinectes 

 sapidus), as determined from catch and value statistics 

 of the NMFS and state agencies. 



2) Recreational value - a species that recreational 

 fishermen specifically try to catch that may or may not 

 be of commercial importance. Recreational species 

 (e.g., red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, and common 

 snook, Centropomus undecimali$ were determined 

 by consulting regional experts and NMFS reports. 



3) Indicator species of environmental stress -identified 

 from the literature, discussions with fisheries experts, 

 and from monitoring programs such as NOAA's Na- 

 tional Status and Trends Program (O'Connor 1990). 

 These species (e.g., American oyster, Crassostrea 

 virginica, and Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias 

 undulatus) are molluscs or bottom fishes that consume 

 benthic invertebrates or have a strong association with 

 bottom sediments. Their physiological disorders, mor- 



Central Gulf of Mexico 



14. Mississippi Sound 



15. Lake Borgne 



16. Lake Pontchartrain 



17. Breton/Chandeleur Sound 



18. Mississippi River 



1 9. Barataria Bay 



20. Terrebonne/Timbalier Bay 



21. Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bay 



22. Calcasieu Lake 



Western Gulf of Mexico 



23. Sabine Lake 



24. Galveston Bay 



25. Brazos River 



26. Matagorda Bay 



27. San Antonio Bay 



28. Aransas Bay 



29. Corpus Christi Bay 



30. Laguna Madre 



31 . Baffin Bay 



Eastern Gulf of Mexico 



1 . Florida Bay 



2. Ten Thousand Islands 



3. Caloosahatchee River 



4. Charlotte Harbor 



5. Tampa Bay 



6. Suwannee River 



7. Apalachee Bay 



8. Apalachicola Bay 



9. St. Andrew Bay 



10. Choctawhatchee Bay 



1 1 . Pensacola Bay 



12. Perdido Bay 



13. Mobile Bay 



V 



Figure 3. ELMR Gulf of Mexico estuaries. 



