Texas Seafood Trail

Overview

Texas Sea Grant’s “Texas Seafood Trail” is a collaborative and statewide initiative designed to celebrate and promote the rich seafood heritage of the Texas Gulf Coast. This innovative project brings together a network of restaurants, seafood markets, fishers, processors, educators, and community partners who are committed to supporting and showcasing local Gulf seafood. The Trail not only encourages consumers to explore the culinary diversity of Texas’s coastal communities but also helps raise awareness about the importance of sustainable fishing practices and responsible sourcing.

Participants on the Trail serve as ambassadors for Texas-caught seafood, offering dishes or products made from locally harvested species such as shrimp, oysters, red drum, and blue crab. In addition to connecting consumers with authentic Gulf flavors, many of the businesses and institutions involved also offer educational resources, events, or signage that inform the public about seafood seasonality, fisheries management, and environmental stewardship.

By creating this interactive map and storytelling platform, Texas Sea Grant aims to build stronger connections between coastal economies, fishing communities, and informed consumers—ultimately fostering a more resilient and transparent seafood supply chain across the state.

Click here to view the map in a new browser window.

G.U.L.F Partnership Program

Texas State Aquarium and Texas Sea Grant partnered with Audubon Nature Institute to develop a Texas Chapter of the G.U.L.F. Restaurant Partnership Program. This partnership is dedicated to promoting local, sustainable seafood harvested from U.S. fisheries of the Gulf. Restaurants account for 70% of the seafood consumed in the United States and chefs and restaurateurs are on the front line of seafood education. Our goal is to promote the sustainability of the Gulf and domestic seafood.

In order to provide accurate recommendations to our partners, we use the latest data available from state and federal management agencies, universities, scientific journals and peer-reviewed research to keep our information regarding fisheries up to date and grounded in rigorous science.

Download the Gulf Seafood Guide mobile app to get information on:

• Our proud restaurant partners
• Where to buy Gulf Seafood
• The most common species caught in the Gulf with their seasonality and freshness

Membership Benefits

Staff Training — Your staff is the most important component of sustainable seafood education. Upon joining, we will provide an in-house training to your staff. After the initial training, staff may attend one of the biannual workshops. Additional in-house trainings can be provided on request.

Marketing Support — The three organizations (Audubon Nature Institute, Texas State Aquarium and Texas Sea Grant) will highlight your restaurant and its involvement through marketing and promotions, including:

• Recognition as a Restaurant Partner on select event collateral and publicity
• Logo recognition on websites, through our Gulf Seafood Guide App and via social media (over 300,000
• Facebook and 28,000 Twitter followers combined for all three organizations)
• Use of the Restaurant Partner logo for messaging of your commitment (new logo design coming soon!)
• Educational tools and resources to engage your staff and customers/guests about sustainable seafood
• Networking opportunities with other partners.
• A window cling and menu decal to display, identifying you as a sustainable seafood partner.

Business Support — The Partnership staff is a team of experts in the field of fisheries, with experience in both the science and business aspects of seafood sustainability. We can offer a variety of support methods to your restaurant, whether answering questions to assist you in sustainable purchasing decisions, or in-depth menu reviews.

Quarterly Communications — Staff will send you, at minimum, a quarterly newsletter with updates on Gulf fisheries and sustainability trends.

Proud Partner Restaurants

SMART SEAFOODIE PLEDGE

Take the Pledge to be a #SmartSeafoodie.

As a consumer, your decisions have a big impact. By purchasing local, sustainable seafood, you support families and communities along the Gulf Coast which continue a way of life that goes back generations.

I pledge to: 

• Include seafood in my diet at least twice a week (recommended by USDA HHS Dietary Guidelines)
• Purchase locally caught seafood whenever possible
• Ask where my seafood comes from and how it was caught or check the label on the package
• Support restaurants that serve locally caught seafood
• Share the importance of sustainable seafood with family and friends