We love Gulf of Mexico-caught seafood: no matter whether it’s grilled, fried, or roasted; or whether we eat it with skewers, forks or fingers. It has a fresh and sweet flavor that no other body of water can provide. That flavor doesn’t just come from the Gulf, though.

The Gulf is the end of the line for a giant watershed system, and it takes everything our great rivers can drain to it. The mighty Mississippi River and her tributaries, too many to name in one sentence, carry everything in their grasp to the Gulf. That’s one reason why the Gulf’s and its fishing grounds are more vulnerable than ever. Since the 1950s, water quality in the region has deteriorated due to runoff pollution from our cities, industries and farms.

Let’s do something about it. For every pound of seafood sold, we’re working in the watershed with cities, farmers, ranchers, developers, and landowners of all means. We’re digging rain gardens in front yards, installing buffer strips at the edge of drainage ditches, planting native vegetation, and doing just about anything else that helps the quality of water where our next meal swims.