Gulf of Mexico south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. US Gulf of Mexico Protraction areas Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida border the Gulf on the north, which are often referred to as
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies solutions to Gulf of Mexico problems On September 19, 2000, the late Edward H. Harte, philanthropist and former owner of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper, donated $46 million to establish a new research institute to focus on the Gulf of Mexico. The previous year, knowing that Harte, a committed conservationist, had been deeply impressed by internationally famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle’s book Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi President Robert Furgason approached him about establishing an internationally distinguished research organization focused on the exploration and sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico. While acknowledging that there were