Publications:
Fact Cards
 The
Mobile Bay Estuary is a unique
body of water produced by the
intersection of the rivers of
Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mobile Bay drainage basin
covers approximately 65 percent
of the state of Alabama and
includes portions of Mississippi,
Georgia and Tennessee. Through
the years and centuries, the
role of humans and the estuary
have been ever changing and
interdependent.
Facts About the Estuary
- The
population of the greater
Mobile-Baldwin metropolitan
community is approximately
530,000 people.
- The
area hosts a diverse employment
base with tourism, fishing,
heavy industry, agriculture,
shipping, and education
being key sectors.
- The
Mobile Bay Estuary encompasses
248,000 acres of water.
- Thirty
million pounds of fish and
shellfish are harvested
each year worth an estimated
$47 million.
- Mobile
Bay is the nation's sixth
largest watershed by area
and fourth largest in terms
of discharge volume.
- Sport
fishing contributes more
than $260 million annually
to the local economy.
- More
than 24,000 boats of 25
feet or less are registered
in coastal Alabama.
- Mobile
Bay is home to 49 species
of mammals, 126 species
of reptiles and amphibians,
337 species of fresh and
saltwater fish, and 355
species of birds.
Health
of the Estuary
- Mobile
Bay's diverse ecosystems
include bay waters, barrier
islands, tidal marshes,
cypress swamps, bottomland
hardwoods, rich coastal
plain soils, and oyster
reefs.
- Within
the Mobile Bay area there
are seven endangered ecosystems.
- Mobile
Bay receives more that 42,000
tons of nitrogen each year,
86 percent from
upstream sources.
- Although
in 1989 150 permitted point
sources of pollution still
discharged around
240 million gallons of waste
per day to the bay, this
was a 70 percent reduction
from
1970 numbers.
- The
Mobile Bay watershed is
experiencing biotic extinctions
at a rate unmatched elsewhere
in the continental United
States. Almost 50 percent
of all U.S. extinctions
this century have occurred
within the Mobile Bay watershed.
- Between
the mid-1950s and late 1970s,
34 percent of the wetlands
in northern
- Mobile
Bay were lost to residential
and commercial development
and timber management activities.
Accomplishments
of the Estuary Program
- The
State of Alabama acquired
47,000 acres in the Mobile
Tensaw Delta.
- The
Mobile Bay Estuary Program
has greatly increased the
community's environmental
awareness of and appreciation
for Mobile Bay.
- On
Amnesty Day over 60 tons
of household hazardous waste
was collected from one county
in just four hours.
- A
combination of 14 federal,
state, and local preservation
and protection projects,
including over 66,000 acres
in wetland restoration are
helping to reduce the bay's
habitat loss rate.
For
Viewing and Printing:
Before printing one or more of these National
Estuary Program files,
check out each of their text only versions for
quick viewing.
To view each of the PDF versions, you will need Adobe
Acrobat Reader software, which can be downloaded FREE
from Adobe's site through a direct link.
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