Gulf of Mexico facts:

At a depth of more than 12,000 feet, Sigsbee Deep is the deepest part of the Golf of Mexico . It is more than 300 miles long and is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon under the sea.” Its closest point to the Texas coast is 200 miles southeast of Brownsville.
Gulf of Mexico Size
The total area of the Gulf of Mexico is about 600,000 square miles
Gulf of Mexico Width
The shortest distance across the Gulf of Mexico is about 500 miles between the Mississippi Delta and the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The greatest distance across the Gulf of Mexico is approximately 1,000 miles going east to west.
Gulf of Mexico Ports
The Gulf of Mexico links the ports of five southern U.S states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) and six Mexican states (Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo) with the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Gulf of Mexico Shoreline
The United States and Mexico form the Gulf of Mexico's mainland shore, which extends more than 4,000 miles from the Florida Keys to Cabo Catoche, at the northwestern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
Gulf of Mexico Sanctuaries
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary contains the northernmost tropical coral reefs in the U.S.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas is the wintering ground of most of the world's whooping cranes in the wild.
Padre Island National Seashore in Texas is the nation's longest stretch of undeveloped beach.

Federal Fishing Rules for the Gulf of Mexico

NEW GROUPER AND TILEFISH REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE JULY 15, 2004
Recreational:

Maximum of 2 red grouper allowed within the 5-fish aggregate grouper bag limit
Commercial:

Shallow-water grouper quota reduced from 9.35 mp gutted weight to 8.80 mp gutted wt.
New red grouper quota - 5.31 mp gutted wt (counts as part of shallow-water grouper quota)
Commercial shallow-water grouper fishery closes when either the shallow-water grouper or red grouper quota is reached, whichever comes first.
Deep-water grouper quota reduced from 1.35 mp gutted wt to 1.02 mp gutted wt.
New tilefish quota - 0.44 mp gutted wt

All other grouper regulations remain the same, including the minimum size limits of

red grouper - 20 inches total length
gag and black grouper - 22 inches total length recreational, 24 inches total length commercial
yellowfin grouper - 20 inches total length
scamp - 16 inches total length

Commercial closed season on red grouper, black grouper and gag - Feb. 15 to March 15

Florida Facts
Largest Cities: Jacksonville Miami Tampa Saint Petersburg Hialeah Orlando Fort Lauderdale Tallahassee Hollywood Pembroke Pines

Florida Admission to Statehood: March 3, 1845
Florida Area: 65758 sq.mi, 22th
Florida Land 53997 sq. mi., 26th
Florida Water 11761 sq.mi.
Florida 3rd Coastline 1350 mi.
Florida 2nd Shoreline 8,426mi., 2nd
Florida State Bird: Mockingbird
Florida Border States: Alabama Georgia
FloridaColleges, Universities: Florida Colleges
FloridaCommunity and Technical Colleges: Florida Community Colleges
Florida Constitution: 27th State
Population: Quick facts 15,982,378; 4th, 12/00
Florida Professional Teams
Florida Bobcats (AFL) - Plantation Florida Marlins (MLB) - Miami Florida Panthers (NHL) - Miami Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) - Jacksonville Miami Dolphins (NFL) - Miami Miami Fusion (MLS) - Miami Miami Heat (NBA) - Miami Miami Sol (WNBA) - Miami Orlando Magic (NBA) - Orlando Orlando Miracle (WNBA) - Orlando Orlando Predators (AFL) - Orlando Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) - Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Devil Rays (MLB) - Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) - Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS) - Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) - Tampa Bay
Florida Stadiums - Florida Arenas
AmericanAirlines Arena - Miami Ice Palace - Tampa Bay Miami Arena - Miami National Car Rental Center - Sunrise Raymond James - Tampa Bay