FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2012 Contact: Jason Schratwieser, Conservation Director 954-924-4320 jschratwieser@igfa.org
The blue marlin from the IGFA Great Marlin Race traveled 4,776 nautical miles in 120 days
During the inaugural IGFA Great Marlin Race (IGMR) six satellite tags were deployed at the Club Nautico de San Juan’s 58th Annual International Billfish Tournament (IBT) that was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 5-11, 2011. Since that time anglers have waited patiently to see when and where the tags would pop up and start reporting information.
The first tag to pop up and report was from a fish caught by Norman Pichardo on IGFA Trustee Pepe Anton’s boat Amirita. Pichardo’s tag popped up October 23, 2011, 419 nautical miles (nm) from where it was tagged near the island of Aruba. Although the tag popped up early, this fish demonstrated an important lesson in the importance of proper revival techniques. Pichardo’s marlin had become tail-wrapped during the fight and was reeled in tail first. Because marlin must continually swim in a forward direction to properly have water flow over their gills so that they can breathe, the fish came up browned-out and in bad shape. First mate David Hernandez and IGFA Conservation Director Jason Schratwieser spent close to 10 minutes reviving the fish by holding on to it as the boat slowly idled forward to get water flowing over its gills. In time the fish’s color came back and it began to beat its tail, after which the fish was quickly tagged and swam off on its own, recording data with its satellite tag as it went.
The next four tags popped up over the course of the next month. Tag number two belonged to a 150 lb blue marlin caught by Charles Donato on the Islamar and popped up on November 20th, 178 nm southeast of where it was caught. December 7th saw two more tags report. Father and son team Antonio and Jaime Fullana landed a blue marlin on September 8th aboard the Bolita. When the tag popped up and reported, the Fullana’s fish had traveled east 589 nm from where it was tagged, putting them solidly in first place. The day after Fullana’s fish was tagged, lady angler Mariana Fuster hooked and landed a blue, which she dubbed “Vic,” on the Lucky Dog that was tagged by Jorge Rivera. Vic traveled 497 nm from where it was tagged which, at the time, placed Mariana in second place for the race. Rounding out 2011 on December 20th, the tag placed by Gerald Torres in the 80 lb marlin caught by Moises Torrent aboard the Batichica popped up 206 nm from its point of deployment – a fourth place finish at the time.
After Torrent’s tag reported, things were quiet and 2011 came to a close. At this point the only tag that had yet to report belonged to a sizeable 575 lb blue that was caught by Mike Benitez on the Sea Born and tagged by Eneau Agusta on September 7, 2011. Then it happened. On January 5, 2012 – exactly 120 days after it was deployed—Benitez’s fish’s tag popped off and began transmitting information. Dr. Randy Kochevar at Stanford University codirects the IGMR with IGFA and was stunned when he began reviewing the data. Benitez’s fish had traveled southeast some 4,776 nm from where it was tagged and crossed the equator to have its tag pop off near the coast of Angola, Africa.
“These are the kind of results we dreamed about when we first launched the Great Marlin Race program back in 2009,” said Kochevar. “This may be one of the longest, if not the longest, marlin tracks ever recorded on an electronic tag. To have a marlin swim from the Caribbean all the way across the Atlantic and across the Equator to Africa reminds us how remarkable these animals are and how much we still have to learn from them.”
Travelling more than eight times farther than any other fish, Benitez’s fish became the clear winner of the San Juan IBT race. Unfortunately, Mike Benitez never got to hear the news. A beloved captain in Puerto Rico and the first tournament recipient of the IGFA-Chester H. Wolfe Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, Mike passed away in Boston just two days before his tag reported; he was 79 years old.
Anglers worldwide can view all the results of the IGMR on the interactive map at http://igmr.igfa.org/ The next tournament in the IGMR will begin in February of 2012 in South Africa at the South African Deep Sea Angling Association Classic. For more details and sponsorship information, contact Jason Schratwieser at jschratwieser@igfa.org or 954-924-4320.
For further information, contact the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida 33004; phone 954-927-2628, fax: 954-924-4299, website: http://www.igfa.org/.
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—JANUARY 9, 2012— Internationally known wildlife artist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey, who took audiences across the planet in the award-winning Portraits from the Deep documentary series, is launching several new film projects in 2012, starting with Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation due for release this spring.
“A critical part of the mission of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation is education and film is a superb way to deliver the messages of science and conservation,” said Dr. Harvey. “Only through understanding the issues can we hope to save our seas for future generations.”
In Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation, Dr. Harvey and two-time Emmy Award winning producer George C. Schellenger takes the audience on an expedition where the jungle meets the sea in an explosion of life, an unforgettable vision of Panama and its surrounding waters. The film will show how scientists are working against the clock to protect a land and sea paradise that attracts visitors from around the world.
“The film will feature massive storms, majestic marlins and even protective dolphins—all part of an adventure that takes place above and below the water,” said Dr. Harvey, whose latest documentary “The Mystery of the Grouper Moon” played a pivotal role in protecting one of the last know spawning areas of the Nassau grouper. An updated version of the documentary is in production. Also, a film revealing scientific breakthroughs in the study of migration patterns of satellite-tagged Tiger Sharks is underway for a 2012 release.
Dr. Harvey and Schellenger have collaborated on several projects recently, including “This is Your Ocean: Sharks”, a 44-minute documentary depicting sharks in their natural environment. This film captures the adventure and passion of shark diving and evokes a call for conservation and protection for the species that today is threatened by over fishing for a growing demand for shark fin soup.
Trailer for “Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation”:
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
On November 21, 2009, Guy Harvey caught and tagged an estimated 150-pound blue marlin with a pop-up satellite tag. By the time the tag had popped off on May 21st, the fish had traveled 3,825 miles as it meandered toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, then around Cuba, up into the Gulf of Mexico and then toward the Straits of Florida off the Keys. The Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) downloaded information from the tag that not only tells researchers the path taken, but other valuable information such as the depth and water temp the fish traveled in. The more we know about the life history of fish and other ocean inhabitants, the better able we will be of help insure the health of future populations.
AFTCO, the licensee for Guy Harvey clothing, donates over $250,000 a year from sales of Guy Harvey T-shirts and other Guy Harvey sportswear, to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF). The GHOF then passes the donations on to credible marine research entities like the GHRI. Your purchase of a Guy Harvey clothing item directly helped to fund this blue marlin tracking program and other important marine research activities.
— Bill
Blue Marlin tagged by Guy Harvey in the Cayman Islands traveled 3,825 miles in six months
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
Discussion about and awareness of Marine Protect Areas (MPA) continues to increase. Much focus has been put on irrational and ill-advised MPA’s like in those along the California coast, the Outer banks of N.C. or Biscayne Bay, FL. In those cases, politics, rather than science or rational thought, drove the agenda. AFTCO has and will continue to speak out and fight against such ill-advised MPA’s.
The above poor examples does not mean that all MPA’s are bad. Today’s blog is about a different type of MPA, one that is reasonable, supported by sound science, and a good example of how conservationists, and sportfishermen can work together on behalf of the marine resource. This MPA will allow the Cayman Islands to continue to protect their Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site. We applaud Guy Harvey and all who supported him in this effort.
– Bill Shedd
Dr. Guy Harvey Applauds Decision But Says More Needs to Be Done
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN—DECEMBER 16, 2011— A groundswell of public support generated by Guy Harvey’s latest film The Mystery of the Grouper Moonhas prompted the Marine Conservation Board of the Cayman Islands to extend a ban on fishing the Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site near Little Cayman.
The Board, this week, voted to extend the current moratorium another eight years after reviewing extensive research conducted by REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) and Oregon State University and a public education campaign supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) and the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DOE). The existing ban, in place since 2003, was due to expire at the end of the year. The penalty for catching Nassau grouper in a spawning aggregation site between November and March is up to one year in prison or up to $500,000 in fines.
“The Cayman Islands are celebrating the 25 anniversary since the formation of the first marine park here, so it is fitting that such a strong conservation effort has been made by the MCB and that common sense has prevailed,” said Dr. Harvey.
In filming the research work being conducted by REEF, Guy Harvey and award-winning filmmaker George Schellenger created a compelling and informative 45-minute documentary—The Mystery of the Grouper Moon. The film’s purpose was to document the research and make the results available in layman’s language to the residents of the Cayman Islands. The documentary was shot entirely in the Cayman Islands and was supported by REEF and the DOE. The GHOF also supported the education campaign with custom artwork.
More work needs to be done, according to Dr. Harvey, who makes his home in the Cayman Islands.
“We are all very glad that the Marine Conservation Board has acted positively on the research conducted by REEF and the DOE, as the science clearly shows the recovery of Nassau groupers has not been as successful as expected,” said Dr. Harvey. “This is because fishing for this species still continues during the spawning season, but outside of the protected spawning aggregation sites.”
The Nassau grouper population, according to Dr. Harvey, has maintained equilibrium and has not grown appreciably. Harvey says the next step is for the Ministry of the Environment to legislate protection of Nassau grouper throughout its range during spawning season, between November 1 and March 31.
“This would be similar to the protection enjoyed by conch and lobster populations which remain healthy in the Cayman Islands, but are fished for only during short seasons each year,” he said. “Also the minimum catch size of the Nassau grouper needs to be extended from 12 inches to 24 inches. It is good fishery management to let fish reproduce before they are harvested. A 12 inch fish is immature.”
An added advantage to keeping groupers at a healthy population is that they can serve as a natural culling force on the invasive, non-native lionfish, which are annihilating several species of juvenile reef fish throughout the Caribbean.
“Local fishermen need to realize that these conservation measures will benefit all user groups in the years to come,” Dr. Harvey concluded. “Once the Nassau grouper population recovers it can then be managed and fished within the restrictions of new catch limits, but the spawning brood stock must be protected forever.”
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
Second Location for Guy Harvey Outpost Properties Program
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts LTD today announced plans to open its second boutique resort property on Rum Cay in the Southern Bahamas. The popular Sumner Point Marina & Villas property is undergoing renovation and reopens this spring as the Guy Harvey Outpost Club & Marina, Rum Cay.
“Rum is the southern gateway in and out of the Bahamas, just like Bimini is to the north, so this is a great complement to our system and certainly will be a welcome Outpost for any of our customers spending time further down the island chain, “notes company President, Mark Ellert. The Rum Cay project follows the reopening of the Bimini Big Game Club last year as a Guy Harvey Outpost. Rum Cay is an out-island destination known for its rugged and unspoiled beauty, and daily life on Rum is little changed over the past hundred years.
“Every serious angler or diver has the Southern Bahamas on his or her bucket list, every mariner knows it’s where you put in for fuel and shore leave and with a lack of crowds or development, Rum Cay enthusiasts consider it their own private island retreat,” adds Ellert, who oversees location selection for the firm. “For all these adventure travelers, we intend the Outpost Club & Marina to be the destination of choice in the Southern Bahamas.”
The island has approximately 60 permanent residents and is roughly 50 miles southeast of Georgetown in the Exumas. Conception Island, which is part of the Bahamas National Land and Sea Park sanctuary, figures prominently in the company’s interest.
“Conception is just 10 miles from Rum,” said the company¹s chairman, Dr. Guy Harvey, who holds a Ph.D in marine fisheries management.” In addition to the fantastic diving there, we intend to work with government in expanding the coral and shark research work of the Guy Harvey Research Institute which is a cornerstone of our Outpost program in the Bahamas.”
Named Santa Maria de La Concepcion by Columbus who visited the island on his first voyage to the New World, Rum Cay is believed to have acquired its modern name from a shipwrecked cargo of rum. The island’s most famous shipwreck is that of the 101-gun HMS Conqueror which sank off Sumner Point in 1861, and is now preserved and protected as the Bahamas Underwater Museum.
Widely recognized for its outstanding diving and fishing, Rum Cay is also popular with surfing and kite-boarding enthusiasts, and sky diving over the island is quickly gaining in popularity. This December the resort hosts its second “Jump Boogie”, a weeklong skydiving and kite-surfing event.
“Rum Cay has always interested us because of its unquestionable natural beauty and its top-of-class sporting activities, including extreme sports that appeal to a new generation of Guy Harvey friends and fans,” emphasizes Ned Stone, who leads the company’s “Outpost Pursuits” program. “Surf, kite and paddle boards are the new beach sports, and we intend to bring our top-of-class DNA to these as we’ve done for fishing and diving.”
The Sumner Point Marina is situated on the southeast tip of Rum Cay. The marina and adjoining club facilities have been owned and operated by the Little family since 1960. Known for its protected marina, picturesque beachside cottages and gourmet dining, the property exudes the bohemian flair of its owner and artist-in-residence, Bobby Little.
“It’s time for our family to take this incredible property to the next level”, remarked Bobby Little in announcing the conversion of his boutique resort. “I was raised on Rum, as has my son. With our renovations and the support of the Guy Harvey Outpost brand and management, I expect our property to become a beacon for sustainable tourism in the Southern Bahamas. I can’t think of a better legacy for our family, for the Bahamas or for anyone who has come to call us their island home.”
About Guy Harvey Outpost Club and Marina, Rum Cay
First settled by the Lucayan and Arawak Indians, Rum Cay was the second island Columbus visited on his famous 1492 voyage. The island remained deserted until the late 1700’s when American loyalists set up plantations on the island to farm cotton and salt. Of the island’s original settlements, only Port Nelson remains, situated approximately 2 miles west of Sumner Point.
In 1965 Robert Little, Sr. sailed into Rum Cay in search of a world class beach diving destination, and quickly decided to purchase approximately 100 acres comprising the oceanfront lands of Sumner Point. In the ensuing years, heir to the Thom McCann shoe fortune, David Melville, organized the Rum Cay Dive Club, putting the island on the map of international dive destinations. With operations limited by a grass runway, no island electricity and no marina, Melville abandoned the club in 1989. In 1990, Robert Little Jr. and his brother Billy, began construction of a marina and shortly thereafter the Out of the Blue restaurant opened, forming the core of Sumner Point Marina and Villas, today the islands only resort.
With a newly completed 5000 ft. runway and upgraded electric and telephone service, the Bahamas has invested heavily in Rum Cay’s hospitality infrastructure. In converting to the Guy Harvey Outpost Club and Marina, immediate plans include rebuilding the marina and fuel dock, adding a dive shop, refurnishing existing beachfront cottages and redeveloping the club’s popular Out of The Blue restaurant. These improvements are scheduled for completion by the start of the summer boating season. In the fall work will begin on adding new marina and beachfront suites, a small spa and a freshwater pool complete with terraced patios and pool/beach bar.
Location: Sumner Point (Rum Cay’s Southeastern Tip)
Marina Facilities: 28 Slips
Cottages: 4 Beachfront units, capable of accommodating 6
Kalik House: 2 Bedroom Beachfront Home, capable of accommodating 6
I seriously question the speeds often given for any fish, especially when Wikipedia and some reputable some encyclopedias claim that sailfish are supposed to be the fastest fish and can hit 60 miles per hour.
I once went to several references and online sites looking for Orca speeds. I found a range of speeds from 25 to 35 miles per hour (from here on shortened to mph) on the publications and web sites. None were anywhere near as fast as some the speeds some fish can supposedly attain.
Since Orcas can run down, catch, and eat, blue fin tuna, I question all the old, unsubstantiated fish speeds. I believe the speed of most fish is highly exaggerated by anglers, especially fishing writers. How excited can a reader get when reading about a bonefish tearing line off a reel at 15 mph, which is slower than many humans can run? In my youth, I could run down a beach in shallow water fast enough to avoid losing line to even a big bone.
Billfish, like this jumping Blue Marlin, are considered to be some of the fastest swimming fish in the sea. Photo by Richard Gibson
As a long time big game fishing guide, part time and ex Biological Oceanographer with decades of personal experience, ( called anecdotal evidence by scientists) I am positive no marine fish can exceed about 25 mph. I often chase large marine fish (tuna and marlin) with a boat and quickly catch them at 20 mph.
In addition, if a fish jumped straight up at 60 mph (88 ft/sec), simple math shows that after one sec the force of gravity (32ft/sec/sec) would have slowed the fish to 38 mph (88ft/sec -32ft/sec = 56ft sec which is 38 mph) The height of the fish at the end of that one second would be 72 ft and it would still going up at 38 mph. Height equals AVERAGE velocity times one second. Average V would be 88 + 56 divided by 2 giving a height of 72 feet.
Last but not least, there is the study AFTCO did decades ago which showed how much frictional drag there was on given lengths of line being pulled through the water. If any fish could go even 30 mph, they would break off before any crew could clear the lines and merely backing up would not make enough difference to avoid breaking the line.
Big fish eat little fish and the biggest predatory fish are the fastest. I doubt very much any fish can go 30 mph — it is too easy for Orcas to catch them for fish to obtain that kind of speed and no one says Orcas can hit 60!
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please
visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
In an editorial a few years ago, I asked this question: Would anyone mind if the federal government ordered hundreds of coral reefs around the Florida Keys to be dynamited into rubble and hauled away?
One hopes the rhetorical nature of that is obvious. Hell, yes! The uproar would be huge, particularly among environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council.
So I have to wonder why such environmental groups haven’t spoken out against destroying hundreds of living coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In fact, at least one — the NRDC — is on record actively opposing any effort to stop such destruction. These groups are aware of the plan, but I suspect most of the public is not or there would be more pushback.
While any government directive to destroy reefs may sound crazy, here’s how it’s going down.
For years, the feds have obligated oil companies to eventually yank out all non-producing oil rigs in the Gulf. That has been happening, but slowly.
Late last year, in what the Coastal Conservation Association calls a knee-jerk reaction to last summer’s oil disaster, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a directive that all such rigs be pulled out within five years.
That would mean at this point, about 650 offshore rigs would be destroyed. That’s 650 individual, massive, living, vibrant coral-reef ecosystems — obliterated. (And keep in mind, these are huge vertical reefs offering structure and coral where otherwise there would be only barren, smooth bottom.)
But now there may be hope — in the form of federal legislation just introduced by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter called the Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act of 2011. “I appreciate the Coastal Conservation Association bringing this issue to my attention,” he says. “More than ever, we need to create habitat for marine life in the Gulf, not dispose of it. These idle rigs are serving a valuable purpose supporting our fisheries.”
Indeed, Dr. Bob Shipp, chair of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council has theorized publicly that one of the main reasons the Gulf is truly swarming with red snapper is the existence of so much habitat where decades ago there was so little.
The Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act would not allow platforms to be removed until assessments are completed to determine whether a platform supports coral populations or other protected species, and to identify any species that have recreational or commercial value. If it is determined that a structure supports substantial reef ecosystems, its decommissioning would be halted until it can be determined that removing it would not harm the reef ecosystem.
A breath of sanity, you say? A big 10-4 to that: From this angler/conservationist, a huge thank-you to both Vitter and CCA.
BUT — the fat lady is far from singing on this one. Legislation proposed and legislation enacted may be poles apart.
You can help save the Gulf’s living reefs — and I hope you will by taking just a moment to click here to go to the CCA web site and send a message to your legislators supporting Vitter’s bill.
Don’t let public apathy or astoundingly misguided “environmentalists” destroy the Gulf’s vast, thriving reef system. As sport fishermen, let’s show, yet again, who the true environmentalists are. Put another way, ask yourself: “Is saving a living coral reef and its communities of marine fish worth one minute of my time?” Do it now — and pass it on. Together, we can stop the destruction of the Gulf’s reefs.
— Doug Olander
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please
visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
The sale of Guy Harvey Sportswear supports the marine resource in many different ways with its sale of each Guy Harvey product, a contribution is made to the GHOF
During the spring sampling season, three ongoing projects of the Florida Program for Shark Research at UF’s Florida Museum of Natural History, one in collaboration with researchers from Florida State University (FSU), focused on the distribution and movements of adult and subadult sawfishes in the southern portion of its Florida range.
We produced a survey of the waters surrounding U.S. Navy properties in the Key West region in order to determine the current status of sawfishes in those areas for the U.S. Navy/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Because of obvious security constraints, we were the first fish biologists to sample in these waters in decades.
Concurrently, in conjunction with Dean Grubbs and fellow FSU scientists and the John Carlson of the National Marine Fisheries Service, we sampled the middle and lower Keys and Tortugas region and Florida Bay, catching and satellite tagging eleven sawfishes. Satellite tags give long time and distance of movement information and we hope our tagging will help us better understand seasonal horizontal (up and down the coast) and vertical (depth) movements of the critters.
We also caught and multiple tagged two large adults in Florida Bay, the tags being traditional “spaghetti,” satellite, and active acoustic models. The last allowed us to manually track the minute to minute movements using a receiver held under the boat. Our first saw was “lost” within the first hour or so as it gave us the slip by scooting over a shallow bank, then boogying before we could detect its signal. Having learned our lesson, on our second capture we got in 38 hours of tracking over three days, including day-night comparisons. The sawfish moved about in deeper channels by day, then moved onto shallow, seagrass beds by night. It chose the same shallow grassy area on successive nights, demonstrating some short-term site fidelity. Next spring we plan to initiate placement of underwater listening stations on the bottom and tag the sawfishes with passive acoustic tags. These tags will leave a unique “bleep” on any receiver as the sawfish swims near, allowing us to track localized movements over longer periods and larger areas. We also will continue to satellite tag these and other sawfishes.
While sampling for sawfishes we also caught many sharks and rays. All of these animals also were measured, sexed, sampled (tissue for DNA) and tagged as part of ongoing studies of their biology and movement patterns. We also continued our work in Indian River Lagoon (IRL), where we began tagging young bull sharks with spaghetti and passive acoustic tags in a “new” region for us, the St. Lucie River estuary. This work is being done with our colleague, David Snyder, of Continental Shelf Associates. We also continue to download data from our underwater array of receivers in Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River and the northern IRL, where tagged bull sharks and rays still roam.
During this time period we put 5000 miles in land travel on the Guy Harvey adorned Hell’s Bay and God only knows how many sea miles on our faithful vessel!
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
This 44' x 24' Guy Harvey mural now adorns the new Surf Style parking garage in Clearwater Beach, FL with the grand opening of the new Surf Style locaction last weekend on Labor Day
A giant mural courtesy of Guy Harvey, the artist and entrepreneur known for his depictions of marine wildlife, now appears on the side of a multi-story parking garage overlooking Clearwater Beach.
The garage was built by Surf Style, a store next door which sells swim suits, T-shirts, beach balls, and other beach-related products – including many that are part of the various Guy Harvey lines.
The city passed an ordinance in 2005, requiring any development project which is $5 million or more to include a certain percentage of the cost for public art, according to Christopher Hubbard, cultural affairs specialist for the city of Clearwater.
The developers can do this one of two ways, Hubbard said. They can set aside 1 percent of the project cost and erect the art themselves, or they can give the city three-quarters of a percent of the cost, and the city will decide what public art project to put it toward, Hubbard said.
Surf Style chose to do it on its own. The amount allocated for the mural is $125,445.
According to Steve Stock, president of Guy Harvey Inc., the idea came up a couple of years ago at an expo. Surf Style has been selling quite of bit of Guy Harvey merchandise, and Guy Harvey Inc. has done a handful of murals – including one of the Fort Lauderdale skyline inside the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport.
The mural is as much an advertisement for Guy Harvey products – Stock called the mural a billboard – as much as it is a work of art.
The mural is vertical — 44 feet tall and 24 feet wide — and is about 30 feet above the ground, said Hubbard. It was approved by the city’s Public Art and Design Board after the board concluded it met the three criteria required – that it’s accessible to the public between normal business hours; that the work is done by a professional artist; and that the proper amount of money has been spent on the project.
The Marriott Residence Inn in downtown Clearwater was also required to come up with some public art, which it did, in the form of some glass artwork and prints in their lobby, along with a fountain designed by a California artist.
For the mural, Harvey first put together an acrylic painting on canvas. That painting will essentially be magnified into a vinyl strip that is of the same type used to wrap an advertisement or a public service announcement around a bus.
Much like the Fort Lauderdale airport mural, the one on the Surf Style garage depicts the skyline as seen from the Gulf of Mexico. It features Pier 60, and, in the distance, the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa, and the Surf Style garage, with its gigantic mural.
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
In what has become a veritable campaign of misinformation, Pew Environment Group issued yet another statement in support of setting annual catch limits on marine fisheries species without the benefit of science-based assessments. Taking the campaign to a new level, Pew is now revising history to make its points:
Holly Binns, director of the Pew Environment Group’s Southeast Fish Conservation Campaign, issued the following statement [Aug. 8] in response to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s 8 to 5 vote to approve plans to prevent overfishing that protect dozens of species by setting science-based catch limits.
“‘The council has taken a forward-looking approach that allows managers to set scientifically sound fishing limits now before species suffer population declines. This proactive strategy is necessary to avoid what happened with South Atlantic red snapper, which is in such severe trouble that a fishing moratorium was needed in 2010 to save the species.’
“‘This plan will help avert steeper restrictions in the future, setting a course towards restoring a healthy, balanced ocean ecosystem. It is like visiting the doctor for preventive care, rather than waiting until you end up in the emergency room.’”
There are so many misstatements of fact in that statement, it is hard to know where to begin. For starters, there is nothing “scientifically sound” about setting catch limits without the benefit of a stock assessment. Those catch limits are going to be set by SWAG — scientific wild-ass guess – which doesn’t necessarily bother an environmentalist but does strike a nerve with anglers and others who actually use America’s public resources.
Second, the South Atlantic red snapper crisis came about precisely because NOAA Fisheries neglected to do a stock assessment for decades — the exact course of action Pew is advocating now for all marine fisheries. In a sense, the Council managed that fishery by SWAG and got it horribly wrong, so wrong that when they finally did do an assessment, they almost had to close the bottom of the entire South Atlantic to fix it. And ironically, if I recall correctly, Pew was very much in favor of that closure.
Third, as exemplified by South Atlantic red snapper, nothing about setting limits based on SWAGs is going to prevent managers from having to enact steeper restrictions in the future when and if an assessment finally shows them how radically wrong those limits are. And, in the most gaping fault with Pew’s logic, once the catch limits are set without an assessment, there is no motivation for managers to spend the money and resources to actually examine the state of the stock with an assessment. Red snapper became a crisis after the stock assessment. If they had never done an assessment — and NOAA Fisheries has shown a systemic reluctance to expend resources on assessments in recreational fisheries — red snapper would still be heading merrily down the drain, and no one would be the wiser.
Pew likes to say that managing this way is “preventative” medicine, and it’s better than ending up in the emergency room. In reality, they are advocating exactly the opposite. They are advocating that you never visit the doctor, never run any tests, never draw blood or have an x-ray. And by time you realize there is a problem, you go straight to the morgue.
That is no way to manage a fishery.
There are rational ways to manage wildlife resources that are employed all over this country. Anglers are seeking the same for marine species, no more, no less. But we are not going to get there by revising history and distorting reality.
Jeff
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
I would like to welcome you to the Guy Harvey Sportswear web site. Here we will feature my blog where I will report on expeditions, adventures, and various marine conservation efforts. We will also include various guest bloggers, videos and photos that I believe you will find interesting, whether you are a serious fishing or diving enthusiast, or simply someone who cares about the marine resource, loves living the coastal lifestyle, or just wants to learn more about Guy Harvey sportswear.
I would like to welcome you to the Guy Harvey Sportswear web site. Here we will feature my blog where I will report on expeditions, adventures, and various marine conservation efforts. We will also include various guest bloggers, videos and photos that I believe you will find interesting, whether you are a serious fishing or diving enthusiast, or simply someone who cares about the marine resource, loves living the coastal lifestyle, or just wants to learn more about Guy Harvey sportswear.
