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CHAPTER III: MISSISSIPPI’S ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK-ECOREGIONS OF MISSISSIPPI 70


The NGM is a productive environment. In 1997, the estimated commercial value of the finfish and shell-
fish harvest was $823 million.


The Gulf is ranked as the top region in the country for seafood harvest in both poundage and monetary
value. Much of the productivity of this region is believed to have its origins in the productivity of the
nearshore marshes and seagrasses, because these habitats serve as nurseries for juveniles, and/or simply
because they are the source of vast amounts of carbon and nutrients.


Estuarine, seagrass and marsh environments, which are in abundance in the NGM, are estimated to be
ten times more valuable to humans than any terrestrial habitat for ecosystem services like food produc-
tion, recreation and nutrient cycling.


The following habitat types described in Chapter IV of this CWCS can be found in the NGM ecoregion:


„ Streams
„ Upland Maritime and Estuarine Fringe Habitats
„ Estuary and Mississippi Sound (Inside or Associated with the Barrier Islands)
„ Marine Habitats
„ Urban and Suburban Lands
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