The Port Mansfield Channel has historically provided water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the lower Laguna Madre; however, there has been much recent concern over the rapid closure of this inlet due to sedimentation.  The closing of this channel may impact many recreational fishery species requiring access to nursery habitats (e.g., seagrass meadows). Because there is limited information on fisheries abundance, migration, and nursery habitat use in the Port Mansfield Channel area of the Laguna Madre, the goal of this project is to examine the nekton use and adult migration patterns in the Port Mansfield Channel vicinity. We are using field collections to assess distribution and abundance of newly recruiting sport fishes using the Port Mansfield Channel and adjacent nursery habitats.  We are also using otolith- and genetic-based techniques to characterize the geographic stock structure of the adult spotted seatrout along the lower Texas coast to examine if the closure of Port Mansfield Channel will affect migration patterns of spotted seatrout.