Fort Crockett: From Army Base to NOAA Fisheries Lab.

Fort Crockett: From Army Base to NOAA Fisheries Lab

IIn 1970, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service became the steward and primary occupant of historic Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas.

Established in the 1890s and named for Alamo defender Davy Crockett, the fort served as a U.S. Army garrison, World War II prisoner-of-war camp, and recreation center. In 1950, the fort became home to a Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Laboratory. Since then, it has become a hub of fisheries research in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thousands of people visit the lab each year to learn about sea turtle recovery efforts, wetlands restoration, essential fish habitat research and shrimp fishery management.

A ceremony in January of 2000 highlighted the preservation of historic buildings on the grounds of Fort Crockett and commemorated of 50 years of fishery research at the site.