Island Life In Galveston

She has weathered many storms, but this historic coastal city always comes back

- Robb Walsh

THE FISHERMEN unload glistening red snapper onto a dock where Katie’s Seafood Market owners Kenny Guindon and his brother Buddy supervise a crew of fishmongers. A forklift stays in constant motion, carrying pallets of fish-laden bins onto waiting refrigerated trucks. Some 4,000 pounds of red snapper are being loaded right before my eyes.

There was a time when such a catch was unimaginable. Gulf red snapper were almost fished into extinction back in the middle of the last century—but the fish population has bounced back. The Guindon family and fellow fishermen founded Gulf Wild, a nonprofit conservation organization for U.S. fishermen working the Gulf. Their catch is branded with white plastic Gulf Wild tags. The number on the tag tells consumers which boat and which fishermen caught the fish and confirms that customers are supporting a sustainable fishery.

The Guindons keep their fishing boats at Pier 19, near the antique shrimp boats of the Galveston Mosquito Fleet. The vessels blur together in a blend of history and modern-day life that’s peculiar to the island city of Galveston.

In the late 1800s, Galveston was called the Wall Street of the Southwest. Just beyond Pier 19, you can see the impressive stone buildings on the downtown avenue called The Strand, where wealthy cotton brokers, bankers, and shipping tycoons maintained offices. The hurricane of 1900, which killed some 6,000 citizens, ended that era. Now those old stone buildings house restaurants, gift shops, bars, and other tourist-driven businesses.