The purpose of this project is to characterize public health issues associated with bay use activities such as shellfish consumption and contact and non-contact recreation. The major objectives of this characterization study are: 1) review and summarize activities associated with shellfish bed closures, 2) identify and characterize sources of bacterial contamination, 3) review and characterize areas of Galveston Bay which have exceeded water quality standards for contact and non-contact recreation, and 4) assess the incidence of known pathogenic organisms such as Vibrio vulnificus.