<P> The chief port on the gulf is Marseille . Toulon is another important port . The fishing industry in the gulf is based on hake (Merluccius merluccius), being bottom - trawled, long - lined and gill - netted and currently declining from over-fishing . </P> <P> Rivers that empty into the gulf include the Tech, Têt, Aude, Orb, Hérault, Vidourle, and the Rhône . </P> <P> The continental shelf is exposed here as a wide coastal plain, and the offshore terrain slopes rapidly to the Mediterranean's abyssal plain . Much of the coastline is composed of lagoons and salt marsh . </P> <P> This is the area of the cold, blustery winds called the Mistral and the Tramontane . </P>

Dept of southern france on gulf of lions