Gulf Of America

The Gulf of America is the name the U.S. federal government uses for the part of the Gulf of Mexico in U.S. territorial waters. President Trump ordered the change in a January 2025 executive order. The whole gulf covers about 600,000 square miles, with an average depth of 5,299 feet and a maximum depth between 12,303 and 14,383 feet. The launches listed here are on Florida's west coast. Most are in the Big Bend region of Dixie and Taylor counties, and one is at Green Key near New Port Richey in Pasco County. The Dixie and Taylor County launches sit in or next to the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. Established in 1985, it is Florida's largest aquatic preserve at 984,325 acres and stretches more than 150 miles of coastline from Apalachee Bay south to the Withlacoochee River.

Counties run the public access points. In Dixie County, Butler-Douglas Memorial Park, often called Horseshoe Beach Park, is the county's main waterfront boat ramp. Shired Island has a single paved ramp at the mouth of Shired Creek. Taylor County lists the Dark Island Boat Ramp among its boating facilities. Pasco County manages Robert K. Rees Memorial Park, a 42-acre park with two small free launches for canoes and kayaks, open dawn to dusk. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sets regional bay scallop seasons. The Fenholloway through Suwannee Rivers Zone, which includes Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee, is open June 15 through Labor Day. The Pasco Zone was closed to harvest effective August 6, 2026. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection names prop scarring from boats as one of the main threats to seagrass in the preserve.