Photo of the Week

We are excited to bring back our Photo of the Week section so stay tuned for new content coming soon! In the meantime, take a look at these fantastic pictures from our teachers.

Fish Tails and Fish Tales

October 16, 2017
Close-up view of the tail of a scamp grouper, a species common along the coasts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Photo: Kate Schafer

Groupers are mostly protogynous, meaning that when they become sexually mature, they are always females. Only later in life, when they have grown bigger (and have the right environmental influences), do they transition to males. This species can live for more than 30 years, but that’s actually relatively short for a lot of the grouper species, some of which can live to 60 years or more. Scamp grouper come together in groups to reproduce, so this makes them vulnerable to overfishing. The management councils take this into consideration when making a management plan and will close off areas known to be spawning grounds during the reproductive season.
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29 photos for Gulf of Mexico · Clear

Bag of Tagged Blue CrabsAugust 16, 2021This Earth Week, Celebrate BiodiversityApril 19, 2021Observations from the Western GulfFebruary 1, 2021Angelfish We Have Held on HighDecember 23, 2019Blue Crabs of TexasFebruary 25, 2019The 2019 Teacher at Sea Application deadline is Friday!November 26, 2018Little marine life can survive in the Gulf of Mexico’s seasonal hypoxic (low-oxygen) “dead zones.” This shark-eye snail was an exception.July 10, 2018A “Squadron” of Pelicans!July 2, 2018More Than One Way to Survey FishApril 9, 2018Fish Tails and Fish TalesOctober 16, 2017Lionfish OverloadJuly 31, 2017Trawl the Livelong DayJuly 10, 2017
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