also arrive from the impact of the Guadalupe River on San Antonio Bay. Combined, the fresh water influence is 60 to 70 percent of the system's volume, which is judged to be minimal. Texas State Highway 35 runs parallel to the shore of Aransas Bay on its route from Corpus Christi to Houston. The highway includes the 1.5 mile long Copano Bay causeway, which connects the Live Oak and Lamar peninsulas at the confluence of Copano and Aransas Bays. The first causeway was constructed in 1933, but was replaced in 1966 with the Lyndon Baines Johnson causeway. The former causeway was transformed into a fishing pier in later years. In 1981, nearly 10,000 vehicles passed over the bridge on a daily basis. Ecosystem A wide variety of wildlife can be found in and around Aransas Bay. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the following fish have been caught in the bay: catfish, black drum, red drum, eel, southern flounder, crevalle jack, yellowtail amberjack, ladyfish, silver perch, pigfish, pinfish, sea trout, blacktip shark, bull shark, sheepshead, mangrove snapper, common snook and toadfish. Shrimp, oysters and crabs also reside in the waters. The sea grass carpets found at numerous locations, provide a habitat and an ideal place for fish to spawn. The grasses also act as a filter, clearing the bay of environmental contaminants. Many birds migrate to the area around Aransas Bay, most notably to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Year-round residents include least grebe, brown pelican, neotropic cormorant, white-faced ibis, roseate spoonbill, black-bellied whistling-duck, mottled duck, white-tailed hawk, crested caracara, pauraque, golden-fronted woodpecker, great kiskadee, green jay, long-billed thrasher, olive sparrow, seaside sparrow, and bronzed cowbird. The endangered whooping crane has also been spotted near the bay. Despite the fact that there were only 15 in 1900, over 180 are found in the wild today. The whooping crane's and other birds' survival depends on the availability of blue crab. Thousands of crab traps have been removed to preserve the population. Industry Given the location of Aransas bay, shipping has always been a major industry. Following the Civil War, the meatpacking industry became a major source of income for ports on the bay, especially Rockport and Fulton, where numerous slaughterhouses were constructed. In the early years of meatpacking, cattle were slaughtered strictly for their hide since there was no way to refrigerate the meat. As a result, most of the left