Critters
August 29, 2023
Whale Sharks Near Texas? A Rare Sighting Thrills Anglers and Scientists
The world’s biggest fish swims in the Gulf, but much about it remains a mystery.
Gulf of Mexico
Energy
June 29, 2022
An Oil Well Off Padre Island Leaked for Months Before It Was Plugged
Patching it cost the state $1.6 million. Many others are similarly falling into disrepair, and the agencies charged with their oversight are doing nothing about them.
Hunting & Fishing
November 9, 2021
Your Red Snapper Filet Might Have Been Caught by Drug Runners
Federal agencies have long struggled to stop illegal fishing and drug smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent years, it’s only gotten worse.
Travel & Outdoors
August 16, 2021
Behind the Fight to Save the Gulf’s Spectacular Coral Reefs
Some of the healthiest coral communities in the world beckon off the Texas coast. Can unlikely allies save this undersea paradise?
News & Politics
December 6, 2019
Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Mexico Could “Bleach” From Climate Change
Unless rapid warming is halted, the teeming reefs of the Gulf will likely be decimated.
Business
March 25, 2014
The Houston Ship Channel Is Still Closed
This is bad news environmentally and economically.
Travel & Outdoors
January 21, 2013
The Birding Drive
The Birding DriveBy Patricia SharpeROUTE: Mission to South Padre IslandDISTANCE: 89 milesNUMBER OF COUNTIES: 2WHAT TO READ: David Allen Sibley’s The Sibley Guide to BirdsHugging the U.S.-Mexico border in far South Texas, the sultry stretch of land known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley is the Casablanca of the bird
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Oil and Water
The spill in the Gulf is just the latest in a string of catastrophic regulatory failures that prove how incompetent government is. And how important it is.
Energy
January 20, 2013
Oil and Water
Offshore drillers are finding mammoth reservoirs in places that were once considered barren, which is why the Gulf of Mexico is booming again.
Critters
April 22, 2012
“Sharkboy” Hunter Hooks Another Big One
A fisherman and his 9-year-old son reel in sharks and reality TV producers from their kayak off the Galveston coast.
The Culture
February 10, 2012
Mississippi Legislator Filed Bill to Rename Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America”
Democratic state representative Steve Holland said he filed the legislation to make a point about his Republican colleagues.
Web Exclusive
June 30, 2010
Third Coast State of Mind
When the surf’s good, Texas (yes, Texas) surfers drop what they’re doing and head for the water.
Energy
February 1, 1996
Oil’s Well That Ends Well
It’s not enough to say that associate editor Helen Thorpe was a fish out of water while reporting her story on the new oil plays in the Gulf of Mexico (“Oil and Water,”). She was really a fish out of water on the water. Three different times, the
Texas History
October 1, 1989
Old Salts and Ancient Mariners
In which a landlubber chronicles the saga of getting his sea legs aboard the good ship Elissa.
Hunting & Fishing
April 1, 1981
Shrimpers
Someone endured weeks of hard work, loneliness, and seasickness to land that lovely pink delicacy on your plate.
Hunting & Fishing
July 1, 1975
Tales of Shrimp
Out on the Gulf in a small boat, searching for the makings of shrimp cocktails, shrimp baskets, and shrimp salads.