For Buyers · Corpus Christi & the Coastal Bend
A Coastal Bend farm for Coastal Bend kitchens.
90 minutes north of Corpus Christi by truck. Same-day delivery, same-watershed provenance, and a menu story that writes itself — from one Matagorda Bay farm to Aransas Pass, Rockport, and the bayfront.
Corpus Christi is our closest metro market. At roughly 110 miles and 90 minutes up TX-35, a same-day delivery window is the default, not the exception. For Coastal Bend buyers — restaurants, hotel F&B, retail fish counters, Port Aransas and Rockport tourism dining — we are the local-farm option you can explain to a guest in one sentence. Texas State Saltwater Fish, raised in Matagorda Bay, at the fish counter down the street.
What the Coastal Bend gets
Local by any honest definition of the word.
01 · Same-day window
Harvest to counter in hours.
Palacios to Corpus Christi is a 90-minute drive. A Wednesday-morning harvest is on a Wednesday-afternoon dock for standing-order accounts across the Coastal Bend.
02 · Same watershed
Matagorda Bay to Corpus Christi Bay.
Your guests fish redfish in Aransas Pass, Baffin Bay, and the Upper Laguna Madre. Our broodstock is native to the same western Gulf system. The provenance story is not a claim; it is a map.
03 · Tourism menu fit
A local farm the visitor can picture.
Port Aransas, Rockport-Fulton, Mustang Island, Padre Island — visitors want the local story. A Palacios farm, a named species (Sciaenops ocellatus), a harvest-date on the lot card. That plays.
04 · Why farmed, not caught
Every fresh commercial redfish is farmed.
Commercial harvest of wild redfish is illegal in Texas. Recreational catches fill fishing reports, not restaurant menus. For Coastal Bend commercial buyers, the question is which farm — and we are the close one. The full regulatory history.
The regional context
"If you buy farm-raised red drum at a supermarket or order it at a restaurant anywhere in the U.S., there's a very good chance that it was produced in Texas."
— Todd Sink, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (2024)
Texas Sea Grant named us alongside two peer Matagorda County farms in their 2025 feature on Texas redfish aquaculture. The Coastal Bend is part of that story; so are we.
Coastal Bend FAQ
What Coastal Bend buyers ask on the first call.
How far is Turtle Creek from Corpus Christi?
Approximately 110 miles north up TX-35, about a 1.5-hour drive. Corpus Christi is our closest metro market — same-day delivery is standard.
Why would a Coastal Bend restaurant buy farmed redfish when redfish swim in our bays?
Because commercial harvest of wild redfish is illegal in Texas (and in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and federal Gulf waters). Recreational anglers catch redfish in Aransas Pass and Baffin Bay, but a restaurant menu cannot source from recreational catch. Every fresh redfish on a Coastal Bend menu is farmed — and 8 of 9 U.S. redfish farms are in Texas. We're the local option.
Do you supply Port Aransas, Rockport, and the barrier-island tourism market?
Yes. Port Aransas, Rockport-Fulton, Aransas Pass, and the Mustang Island / Padre Island beach-tourism market are natural fits for a named-local-farm redfish program. Coastal visitors want the local story on the plate; we can provide it with documented provenance.
Does the Coastal Bend food scene know Turtle Creek?
We are the aquaculture neighbor. Our farm is on Matagorda Bay, a Texas Sea Grant region partner, and we are cited in their 2025 feature on Texas redfish aquaculture. For Coastal Bend buyers, the short version is that the farm is a 90-minute drive up TX-35.
Pick your buyer type
Five specs, by what you run in the Coastal Bend.
Restaurants
For Corpus & Port A kitchens.
Case-sized orders, menu-ready Texas-grown label, chef-direct relationship.
For restaurantsHotels & resorts
For Coastal Bend F&B.
Banquet-scale, destination-menu fit, multi-property P.O.s.
For hotel groupsRetailers
For Coastal Bend counters.
Case-ready whole fish and fillets, signage-ready local-farm origin.
For retailersDistributors
For regional distribution.
Pallet-scale standing orders, cold-chain freight, lot ID per carton.
For distributorsBrokers
For Coastal Bend programs.
Multi-destination drops, per-account tagging, no end-runs.
For brokersFirst inquiry
What to tell us on the first call.
No web form in v1. The fastest path is a phone call. If you'd rather email, here's what to include.
- Business name and location. Corpus, Port A, Rockport, or elsewhere in the Coastal Bend.
- Buyer type. Restaurant, hotel, retailer, distributor, broker.
- Expected weekly poundage. Even a rough range.
- Whole or filleted. Size or portion preference if you have one.
- Tourism seasonality. When your volume spikes — summer, fishing tournaments, snowbird season.
Call (713) 364-3701
Email Sales@turtlecreek.fish
Hours Daily, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central
Visit 7474 TX-35 S, Palacios, TX 77465 — by appointment
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