The coastal zone is the place to be if you are in survival mode and need food. I had not been working long on the Channel Islands when I realized I could survive on the same food utilized for at least 10,000 years by Native Americans - the prolific mollusks in the abundant tide pools along the islands' shorelines.

n fact, an archeologist on San Miguel had to do just that when the Navy forgot he was on the island (This was around 1964 or so). When the Navy woke up and smelled the coffee four days after the proper date, he and his crew had been forced to subsist on abalone. Nowadays the abalone have virtually vanished, but plenty of other species remain in the tide pools. Harvesting them requires virtually no technology at all. And there are plenty of fish just off shore, if you happen to have a net. (What is your net worth?)

My impression is that the Gulf Coast is a bit shy on rocky tide pools. Pity.