Saltwater Fishes of the Texas Gulf Coast is for fishermen and nature enthusiasts alike, featuring 65 common species of fish occurring in the beautiful bays, beaches and offshore waters of Texas. The illustrations are arranged so that comparison of similar species is easy. The accompanying text accurately indicates size, distinguishing features and habitat. This 12-panel guide, conveniently folds up in to a packet narrow enough to fit in a back pocket, yet sturdy enough to stand up under repeated use "€" durable lamination also makes it waterproof. Size: 4"x 9" folded; 9" x 24.5" unfolded.

This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

A tribute to a fish, a sport, and a time now past . . . Through a series of chance encounters over several years, fishing guide and journalist Brandon Shuler unearthed multiple drafts of a nearly finished manuscript by an almost forgotten Texas sports writer, Hart Stilwell. Titled “Glory of the Silver King,”the manuscript vividly captured the history of tarpon and snook fishing on the Texas and Mexico Gulf Coast from the 1930s to the end of Stilwell’s life in the early 1970s. Stilwell was a seasoned outdoors journalist with a passion for salt-water fishing. Now, with Shuler’s careful research, editing, and annotation, this lost manuscript has found new life as both an entertaining “fish tale” and a historical snapshot of a region’s natural heritage. It successfully conveys the thrill of fishing for these once abundant species at the same time it tracks—and laments—the rise, decline, and eventual fall of their fisheries in Texas (which Shuler is able to report are now experiencing a rebound). In a personal and informative introduction, Shuler paints a portrait of Stilwell and tells the story of the discovery and evolution of the manuscript. He also provides a look into his own life as an angler and writer, creating a connection with Stilwell that gives the work authenticity and relevance. Anglers will delight in Stilwell’s rollicking prose. Environmentalists will appreciate the book’s lesson in ocean conservation. For all who live on or near the Gulf Coast, Glory of the Silver King reintroduces a forgotten literary treasure and a magnificent fish that once filled the waters at our favorite coastal retreats. "Hart Stilwell was a world-class raconteur and storyteller. His unpublished manuscript on the glory days of coastal fishing became an underground legend, passed around like a sacred totem for decades. Editor Brandon Shuler has revived Stilwell’s folksy charm and penetrating insights, and the result is this engaging and important book."--Steven L. Davis, curator, The Wittliff Collections

Humans have a rapacious relationship with the world’s ocean, extracting immeasurable quantities of its inhabitants and resources, while simultaneously depositing unbound sums of pollution into it. If we are to move toward sustainable practices, then we must first move toward ways of thinking about fish and fisheries beyond mere economic agendas. And there is one group in particular who could make an impact: saltwater anglers. Recreational saltwater fishing is big business and big culture. The industry is one of the largest in the United States, but that has not translated into a cohesive effort, agenda, or ethic. Saltwater anglers, a diverse group with a range of motivations, do not belong to a single organization through which to galvanize significant voting or lobbying power toward conservation regulation. As a result, federal policymakers have traditionally focused on commercial harvesting interests. Dubbed the “most contemplative of pastimes,” recreational fishing provides a valuable perspective on how humans interact with saltwater environments. Fishing, Gone? builds on this tradition of reflection and opens up the saltwater sportfishing life as a method for thinking through the current status of marine fisheries and environment. Author Sid Dobrin calls on fellow saltwater anglers to reconsider their relationship to fishes and the ocean—the sport can no longer be only about the joy and freedom of fishing, but it must also be about living for the ocean, living with the ocean, and living through the ocean. It is about securing the opportunity to fish on while meeting the economic and environmental challenges that lie ahead.