A Boating and Angling Guide to Gulf County A Boating and Angling Guide to Gulf County Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Logo Sport Fish Restoration Logo NOAA Logo Gulf County Logo DEP Logo Apalachicola Estuarine Research Reserve Logo
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Partial funding for this project was obtained through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Fund.

Additional funding for this project was obtained from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Coastal Management Program, pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award no. NA07OZ0112. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the State of Florida, NOAA or any of its subagencies.
Welcome to Sarasota County
Satellite image of St. Joseph Bay
St. Josephy Bay from the International Space Station, NASA

Gulf County waters are dominated by St. Joseph Bay (also known as St. Joe Bay) which over approximately 73,000 acres along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Formed by a narrow spit of land extending out from Cape San Blas, it is the only bay in the eastern Gulf of Mexico not influences by the inflow of fresh water. AS a result, the salinity regime of St. Joseph Bay is essentially identical to that of the Gulf. In most of the extensive shallow reaches of the lower bay there is no appreciable current except for the daily tide. Therefore, this most productive area of the bay functions largely as a closed system. Consequently, the nutrient budget and food web of the bay are dependent upon primary productivity of the bay itself. Salt marshes and seagrasses play an important role in the food web of St. Joe Bay.

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This Web site was last updated on August, 2013.

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