San Antonio Bay Partnership

09/03/2026

The Gulf of America Alliance implemented 13 collaborative projects aimed at strengthening coastal resilience, environmental education, and resource management across 5 Gulf states with $3.9 million in NOAA funding from 2023 - 2026.

The Gulf of America Alliance invested $3.9 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management to increase regional collaboration and support priorities identified by the five Gulf states. The funds fueled implementation of 13 projects that improved coastal community resilience, data accessibility and sharing, environmental education, habitat and water resources, wildlife and fisheries, and marine debris; projects began in late 2023 and continued through 2026.

Four Regional Ocean Partnerships, including the Gulf of America Alliance, received similar awards. Regional Ocean Partnerships focus on issues that are identified by the member states, provide a voice for a wide variety of stakeholders, and advance collaborative solutions. They also leverage public and private funding to accomplish objectives common to multiple stakeholders across the region, reducing duplication.

Read more about the projects on our homepage, or here: https://gulfofamericaalliance.org/alliance-completes-implementation-of-13-projects-to-strengthen-coastal-communities/

08/15/2026

JOIN US for the 2026 Annual Shorelines Cleanup!
🌐 Sign up: https://bit.ly/4fVVtvy

🤝 Group Cleanup Opportunities | September 21–25
🚤 Main Boat-Based Cleanup | Saturday, September 26 with a Celebration of a Cleaner Bay to follow the event.

Trash that reaches the Texas Mid-Coast can remain in our bays, marshes, and shorelines for years, threatening wildlife, degrading habitat, and becoming part of the waters we fish, boat, work, and enjoy.

Fishing line can entangle birds and marine life. Plastics can break into smaller pieces that are nearly impossible to recover. Bottles, cans, Styrofoam, and other debris can collect along remote shorelines and marshes. The sooner we clean it up, the better.

That’s why the 2026 San Antonio Bay Partnership Shorelines Cleanup matters.

This September, volunteers will head into the bays and along the shorelines to remove marine debris before it can cause more harm. Every piece we remove is one less piece left to impact the Texas coast.

💙 Help us leave it cleaner than we found it.
-Bejat McCracken

08/13/2026

The System-Wide Monitoring Program is a standardized monitoring program in 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves around the nation. There are 5 stations along the Texas Mid-Coast that record water and weather data every 15 minutes.

Check out our real-time data here: missionaransas.org/currents-weather/

08/13/2026

🌊 🗑️ Research has found marine debris accumulation rates on Texas barrier islands to be about 10x higher than other Gulf states studied. Gulf currents, tides, and prevailing winds can carry debris across the water and push it toward the Texas coast. Once it reaches our Mid-Coast, that debris can become trapped along barrier islands, shorelines, marshes, and bays.

That means a plastic bottle or piece of debris found along the Texas Mid-Coast may have traveled a long way before ending up here. Once it arrives, it doesn’t simply disappear. It can entangle wildlife, break down into smaller plastics, damage habitat, and remain in our coastal environment for years.

💙 That’s why shoreline cleanups matter. Every piece we remove means less debris threatening the places, wildlife, and waters we all depend on.

Sign up today for the 2026 Shorelines Cleanup on Saturday, September 26th with the Celebration of a Cleaner Bay to follow.
🌐 Sign up at: https://bit.ly/4fVVtvy
ℹ️ copy and paste the link in the web browser if you find it is not working directly from FB
- Bejat McCracken

08/07/2026

Oysters, they're amazing! The Bay’s Original Water Purifiers.

07/31/2026

🌊 It’s Time to Sign Up for the 2026 San Antonio Bay Partnership Shorelines Cleanup!
Join us in protecting the Texas Mid-Coast by helping remove marine debris from our bays, shorelines, and marshes. Whether you’re an individual, family, school, business, or community organization, there’s a place for you to make a difference. Year to date we have removed 105,671 pieces of trash since 2020 from our mid-coast bays, all thanks to volunteers.

🌐 Sign up at: https://bit.ly/4fVVtvy

🤝 Group Cleanup Opportunities, September 21–25
🚤 Main Boat-Based Cleanup Event, Saturday, September 26

Volunteers from across the Texas mid-coast region will come together for our largest cleanup of the year, followed by a Celebration of a Cleaner Bay!

Every bottle, fishing line, piece of plastic, and discarded item removed helps protect wildlife, improve habitat, and preserve the San Antonio Bay system for future generations.
-Bejat McCracken

07/28/2026

Through our partnership with the Texas Floating Classroom, the San Antonio Bay Partnership is helping thousands of students experience the Texas mid-coast in ways they never have before.

2025- 26 school year impact:
Aboard the RV Archimedes-
⚓ 74 Texas Floating Classroom field trips
👧👦 1,312 students participated
🚤 463 students (35%) experienced their first-ever boat trip

Traveling Bays Program-
🏫 Visited 34 schools
🔬 Reached 5,251 students in 53 hands-on classes

Aboard the R/V Archimedes and through the Traveling Bays mobile aquarium, students explore marine life, water quality, and estuarine ecosystems while learning why healthy bays matter. With a strong focus on underserved and Title I schools, this program has now reached more than 40,000 students over the past decade.

Together with the Texas Floating Classroom, we’re creating unforgettable experiences that inspire curiosity, conservation, and a lifelong connection to the San Antonio Bay System. 💙
-Bejat McCracken

07/25/2026

🦀🤝🌊 We are Working Together for a Stronger San Antonio Bay. The San Antonio Bay Partnership is thankful for funding from the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust in support of our Crabber Engagement Initiative, an effort focused on listening, learning, and collaborating with the commercial crabbing community that depends on these waters every day.

Crabbers possess generations of knowledge about the bay, its resources, and the challenges facing coastal fisheries. Through conversations on the water and at the dock, we’re working to better understand changing conditions, identify practical solutions, and support the long-term sustainability of both the fishery and the ecosystem.

We sincerely thank our partners at Dockside Bait Shop, pictured here, for their steadfast support of the San Antonio Bay Partnership.

Protecting San Antonio Bay isn’t something any one group can do alone. It takes partnership, shared stewardship, and a commitment to working together for future generations.
-Bejat McCracken

07/16/2026

🦅 Fishing line can have heartbreaking consequences. Found hanging from a fishing line at the Little Jetty weather station in Port O’Connor, this osprey suffered devastating injuries. The entangled line caused severe infection, leading to the amputation of its talon and is currently at .

Two other preventable wildlife incidents happened in May, including a Green Sea Turtle that drowned after becoming entangled in fishing line and a Great Blue Heron that swallowed a hook and leader.

Please dispose of fishing line and tackle properly and recycle used monofilament. A simple action can save wildlife.

Find your nearest monofilament recycling bin:
tx.ag/monomap
-Bejat McCracken & Brigid Berger

07/10/2026

🎉 Our New Website Is Live! Explore our conservation programs, volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, and the work we’re doing to protect and restore the Texas Mid-Coast.

Whether you’re a longtime supporter or just discovering SABP, we invite you to take a look and stay connected.

🌐 https://www.sabaypartnership.org