The Gulf of Mexico Shellfish Initiative (GoMexSI) will protect and enhance our shellfish resources in a way that creates sustainable water-dependent jobs while improving the water quality of our numerous Gulf estuaries, through long-term regional planning for the wise and sustainable use of shellfish resources.
GoMeXSI is based on NOAA’s National Shellfish Initiative and draws from other state Shellfish Initiatives. GoMexSI, like all these initiatives, has the overall goal to increase populations of bivalve shellfish in our nation’s coastal waters including oysters, clams, abalone, and mussels through both sustainable commercial production and restoration activities.
GoMexSI will be used to:
- Leverage support for future projects,
- Secure funding for shellfish enhancement, and
- Guide management efforts on a regional basis along coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast.
The planning team sought input from stakeholders from across the Gulf of Mexico to identify common goals among the Gulf states, and some that are unique to each state. Within each state, shellfish stakeholders were engaged to determine state-specific action items (objectives) to accomplish the goals of GoMexSI.
You can still share your input using this survey.
Stakeholder input sessions were held across the Gulf.
| Stakeholder input sessions | ||
| City | State | Date |
| Spanish Fort | Alabama | June 16, 2017 |
| Apalachicola | Florida | Aug. 2, 2017 |
| Cedar Key | Florida | Aug. 1, 2017 |
| Milton | Florida | Sept. 14, 2017 |
| Tampa | Florida | July 31, 2017 |
| New Orleans | Louisiana | Aug. 16, 2017 |
| Biloxi | Mississippi | June 5, 2017 |
| Corpus Christi | Texas | Nov. 30, 2017 |
| Port Lavaca | Texas | Nov. 29, 2017 |
| Texas City | Texas | Nov. 28, 2017 |