Page 108 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2019

GivingBACK coastal resources
Gulf of Mexico Alliance
story and photos courtesy of
the Gulf of Mexico Alliance
As the most productive body of water in the United States, the Gulf of Mexico has natural resources like no other, including rich and bountiful estuaries that provide 78 percent of our nation’s shrimp landings, white sandy beaches that create nearly $10 trillion in annual wages, working waterfronts encompassing 13 of the nation’s 20 leading ports by tonnage, and a rich outer continental shelf and deep canyon area that provides 50 percent of the nation’s oil reserves.
In order to maintain these valuable energy resources, abundant seafood, and extraordinary recreational activities of the Gulf
of Mexico, in 2004 the Governors of the five U.S. Gulf States formed the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a regional collaborative effort with
a goal of improving the health and sustainability of our coastal areas and the lives of millions of people that live, work and visit this region every year.
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a partnership of the five U.S. Gulf States, Federal agencies, academic organizations, businesses, and other non-governmental organizations that collaborate to address our identified priority issues in ways that a single entity cannot. Our partners provide the talent and resources to realize on-the-ground efforts.
Kids planting seagrasses.
Gulf of Mexico Alliance | 1151 Robinson St., Ocean Springs | www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin | @GOMAlliance
108 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2019 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net