# Baffin Bay Specs



## CTR0022 (Aug 26, 2006)

Tour of Texas; Baffin Bay Speckled Trout
The Baffin complex, which includes Alazan Bay, Cayo del Grullo and Laguna Salada is the most remote bay system on the Texas Gulf Coast. It reaches west of the Laguna Madre, about midway between Corpus Christi and Port Mansfield, isolated from the open Gulf by Padre Island. This large bay complex is unique in many ways. Due to its lack of any major freshwater drains and any open passes leading to the Gulf of Mexico, Baffin Bay has a higher salinity level then any other bay in the area. Its is believed that the high salinity levels help the trout grow larger because the fish are not stressed by constantly having to adjust to varying salinity levels. It is also believed that since the bay is protected from the Gulf of Mexico that sharks, dolphin and other large predatory fish typically do not move into the bay to prey on the trout. Serpulid reefs are found no where else on the Texas coast and are unique to Baffin. Living and growing serpulid reefs occur in only a few other areas of the world. These reefs are dated from 300 to 3,000 years old. Serpulid worms (after the family of tube-building worms, Serpulidae) and much like coral reef-building animals, making their tube homes out of calcium carbonate. Over time, these tubes build up into very large rock-like reef structures. While there are some living worms still found on these reefs, there are no reports the reefs are building or enlarging at this time.

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