An Invitation from Vaughn Cochran to View his New Exhibition at the IGFA Hall of Fame Museum Through April 15th

January 25, 2012 at 2:48 am | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Bonefish Bimini, Guy Harvey | Leave a comment
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Ned Stone and Vaughn Cochran hang the artist's self-portrait during preparations for an exhibition of Vaughn's work at the IGFA.

From Vaughn Cochran – artist, conservationist, fly fishing guru and proprietor of Bonefish Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina:

You are invited to attend the GRAND OPENING of my newest art exhibition at the IGFA Hall of Fame Museum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. There will be a reception in the main entry to the Museum on Wednesday, January 25th from 5 to 7 pm serving food and drink. The exhibit will run until April 15th.

ABOUT THE SHOW

The invitation to do this show arrived at the same time I decided to venture into the difficult world of portraits. Not just any portraits but drawings and paintings of the legends of the industry, following the path I chose years ago to create art that spoke about the images, ideas and concepts of the fishing industry….the tools, the colors, boats, familiar scenes and of course the fish.  Degas painted dancers and Andy Worhol through his colorful paintings, silkscreen prints and sculptures elevated everyday items of the popular culture into the art world, (where the term “Pop” came from). This would be my chance to elevate the icons of fishing and to explore bringing my interpretation of my friends to the walls of the IGFA. What better way to force myself to actually execute the idea of contemporary portraits from conception to “hanging a show”.

Each piece in this show could be a starting point for another show, paintings that would be take offs, exploring the concepts that were established in that particular painting. I’m sure you’ll see these thoughts again in paintings somewhere down the road, as every artist is always asking the same question…where do I go from here? Should I keep painting the same thing over and over again or should I take a chance and risk failure?

Take a chance…..failure is not an option!

I hope you enjoy the show.

Dive Legend Neal Watson Re-Elected President of the Bahamas Diving Association

January 24, 2012 at 3:29 pm | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Dive Bimini | Leave a comment
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THE BAHAMAS—JANUARY 24, 2012— Dive legend and businessman Neal Watson has been re-elected for another two-year term as President of the Bahamas Diving Association.

Stuart Cove, owner of Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas in Nassau and Stuart Cove’s Tiger Beach Safaris on Grand Bahama Island, was re-elected vice president.

Watson and celebrated marine artist, scientist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey joined forces last year to open Neal Watson’s Dive Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club in Alice Town.

Watson has been a pioneer in the dive resort business starting his first dive operation in Freeport, Bahamas in 1965. He has been involved in owning and operating hotels, establishing a chain of dive operations, working in the treasure salvage business, stunt coordinator for the movie and TV industry, owned and operated an airline charter company and established a chain of Neal Watson’s Undersea Adventure franchise dive operations in the Bahamas and Caribbean.

In 1985 Watson moved to Fort Lauderdale from Bimini and established Neal Watson’s Undersea Adventures as a Florida Corporation.  Shortly thereafter he started USA Travel Network, Inc., which is an ARC accredited tour company specializing in diving and adventure sports travel.

Watson currently serves on the Board of Directors of DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association), which is the World Trade Association for the diving industry; and is Chair of the Bahamas Dive Marketing Committee, which is responsible for recommending budget expenditures for the Bahamas Ministry Tourism for the Bahamas Government Dive Market Promotions.

Personal achievements include breaking the World’s Scuba Depth Record, diving 437 feet on compressed air as well as breaking the World’s Underwater Distance Record by swimming 66 miles underwater, non-stop without surfacing.

Tagged yellowfin recaptured after 11 years

January 20, 2012 at 1:02 am | Posted in Guy Harvey, Tuna | Leave a comment
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From the Post & Courier (Charleston, SC) – Sunday, January 1, 2012

The recent reporting of the recovery of a tagged yellowfin tuna comes as a surprise to fisheries biologists.

The tag, sent from the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries in Shizuoka, Japan, was just received by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources‘ (DNR) Marine Resources Division.

The tagged fish measured about 68 inches, weighed approximately 189 pounds, and was captured on May 26, 2010 off the west coast of Africa off Mauritania.

The fish was initially tagged by a volunteer angler participating in the Marine Division’s game fish tagging program on April 20, 2001, just south of Cat Island in the Bahamas. At the time of tagging, the juvenile yellowfin was just shy of 15 pounds.

This is the first recapture of a yellowfin tuna in the history of the program, which began in 1974.

“What makes this recovery exciting,” said Robert Wiggers, a DNR fisheries biologist who administers the tagging program, “is that 151 yellowfin have been tagged and released by volunteers, but none have been recovered until now.

This fish was at large for nine years, packed on about 174 pounds and was recaptured close to 4,000 miles from where it was initially tagged.”

As evident from this tag recovery, Atlantic yellowfin tuna are a highly migratory species and thus are a target species for both domestic and international fisheries. This fact should be of interest to recreational anglers when considering the impacts on the overall population of such fisheries.

Guy Harvey Receives Certificate of Appreciation on First Anniversary of USS Kittiwake Sinking

January 13, 2012 at 9:51 pm | Posted in Guy Harvey, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Guy Harvey accepts a certificate of appreciation from CITA President, Harry Lalli and Acting Chief Officer, Leonard Dilbert during the Kittiwake Sinking Anniversary Reception at the Governor’s House. The event was held in recognition of the one year anniversary of the ship's sinking as an artificial reef.

Grand Cayman – January 5, 2012 – In celebrating the first anniversary of the sinking of the USS Kittiwake as an artificial reef, The Cayman Islands Tourism Association recently presented Cayman resident and celebrated marine wildlife artist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey with a certificate of appreciation.

An ardent supporter of the project, Dr. Harvey was on hand a year ago and photographed the sinking of the USS Kittiwake and its short journey to the bottom, 64ft below the surface off the north end of Seven Mile Beach.  The Guy Harvey Research Institute served as one of the many original sponsors of the effort to make the USS Kittiwake an artificial reef. The effort received substantial support from the local dive and business communities as well as the government.

Watch the video below to take an underwater video tour of the USS Kittiwake with Guy:

Guy Harvey’s “Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation” Documentary Scheduled for Release in Spring 2012

January 9, 2012 at 10:21 pm | Posted in Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation | Leave a comment
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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”:

Return of Legendary Big Game Club Sparks New Tourism Opportunities in Bimini

January 7, 2012 at 11:28 pm | Posted in Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, Bonefish Bimini, Dive Bimini, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a comment
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BIMINI, ALICE TOWN—JANUARY 6, 2012— At the gateway to the Bahamas—an archipelago of 700 islands sweeping across 500 miles of open ocean—Bimini has been a media darling in 2011, as dozens of journalists from around the world have re-discovered this tiny island in the stream.

At the forefront of the news surrounding Bimini in 2011, was the successful re-opening of the historic Bimini Big Game Club, a legendary 51-room fishing resort, fully renovated and repositioned as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina.  Dr. Harvey, known internationally for his marine wildlife art and conservation initiatives, and his Outpost Resorts partners, drove home the message that not only was one of the most legendary offshore angling outposts of all time back in operation, it was also re-inventing itself in a tourism market, where eco-systems and bio-diversity are considerations when promoting traditional pursuits such as fishing, diving and boating.

“In addition to dozens of traditional sport fishing and diving media, the Big Game Club’s return and Bimini’s ever-intriguing storylines drew travel journalists from Switzerland, Spain, Canada and the Netherlands and several US based television news and cable TV operations—we even had the Food Channel here doing a piece on Lionfish, which we catch, prepare and serve in our dining room,” said Michael Weber, General Manager of the Big Game Club. “We also successfully returned to tournament fishing with the launch of the First Annual Billfish Invitational last May as well as hosting events with Hatteras and Bertram Yachts, which celebrated their 50th anniversary here.”

As the result of the local publicity and Bahamas Tourism Board promotions, according to Weber, guest visits are improving and a new wave of tourism interest in Bimini is beginning to build.  Bahamas out-island tourism, according to reports through October 2011, showed visitor numbers were up 13% year-to-date.

The Big Game Club is continuing to build its own tourism focused base in 2012, promoting its traditional water sports activities along with a new push for meetings, weddings and group related programs.

Weber said the recent completion of the Gulfstream Conference Center and Hemingway’s Rum Bar & Social Lounge will be heavily promoted as a convenient out-island venue for corporate, scientific and social group events.

Inspired by the renewed public interest, airlift into Bimini continues to improve into 2012.

Bimini has scheduled air access by several carriers including:

* Silver Airways Corp, a new regional carrier launched with assets from the former Gulfstream International Airlines, (the code sharing partner of Continental/United) has acquired a new aircraft (34-seat Saab 340), which should be in service by February/March 2012.  At present Silver has increased their frequency to two flights daily from Fort Lauderdale.

* IBC Airways currently operates with Saab 30 passenger aircraft out of Fort Lauderdale International Airport with four times a week service.

* Western Air services Bimini via Nassau with two flights daily.

* For North Florida residents AirGate Aviation has announced regular scheduled service to Bimini.

* Tropic Ocean Airways is the newest member to the Big Game Club offering seaplane service to Bimini from Fort Lauderdale on a charter basis and as a scheduled carrier in March.

For scheduling flights, Weber said its recommended to use the Outpost Travel Concierge Service through the Big Game Club’s reservation office: 1-800-867-4764.

Another potential public transportation service is The Bahamas Express, a high-speed ferry service currently linking Fort Lauderdale and Freeport in the Bahamas. Future plans call for more regular service ports, including Bimini (tentatively March 2012).

Attracting the bulk of travelers to Bimini, according to Weber, will be the traditional blue water angling, backcountry fly fishing and diving pursuits offered at the Bimini Big Game Club and other properties.

“New for 2012, we hope to add water sports activities such as kayaking and kayak nature tours, kite-boarding and instruction and paddle boards,” Weber added.

As for the more traditional pursuits:

Located on the main navigation channel in Bimini Bay, The Big Game Club provides a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 feet in length. Boaters crossing the stream to Bimini and The Big Game are asked to call the US Marina Reservations Office to arrange for slip accommodations and confirm other special requirements.

Offshore charters are currently available through noted Carolina sportfishing captain Skipper Gentry and his 46’ Post powered with 625 hp diesels.

The Big Game Club is also represented on Bimini’s record setting backcountry flats with fly fishing guru Vaughn Cochran at the helm of Bonefish Bimini. Neal Watson, known fondly as the “Dive God” for his superhuman record breaking scuba records, has launched Neal Watson’s Dive Bimini, a Guy Harvey Outpost Dive Center featuring M/V Bimini Blue, the largest recreational dive boat in the Bahamas.

“Bimini has no shortage of great dive sites: Reefs, Wrecks, Walls, Drift Dives, our famous Atlantis Road and a truly amazing Wild Dolphin Encounter – you name it,” said Watson.  “And did I mention, Shark Encounters”, he asks with a grin.

As for future dive sites, an effort currently is underway to sink the tugboat “Manatee” south of Turtle Rocks to make a good dive site in prevailing northeasterly winds. The “Manatee” is currently docked in South Bimini.

Mike Benitez, Legendary Marlin Angler, Passes

January 5, 2012 at 5:46 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Mike Benitez, a pioneering marlin angler and legend in the sport fishing community, recently passed away. Ricardo LeFranc, a member of Mike’s home port of Club Nautico de San Juan, penned the following memorial:

Our beloved Captain Mike Benitez passed away this Monday, January 3rd in the city of Boston.

In 1951, at the age of 18, Mike started working as a mate on fishing boats after graduating from high school. That same year, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company hired fishing captains experienced in blue marlin fishing to promote the island as a sports fishing destination. Among those captains were Tommy Gifford and Johnny Harms, with whom Mike had the chance to work and learn from as they fished throughout Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. A few years later, Mike had saved enough money to build his own boat – a replica of the 36-ft Rybovich Bimini Babe, with plans given to him by Mr. Bob Maytag. This boat, named after his daughter, Rebecca, was the beginning of a long and productive career in fishing charters, which still runs today out of San Juan.

Mike was instrumental in the birth and development of sport fishing in Puerto Rico during the decades of the 1950’s and 60’s, and in 1956 he got the attention of every angler in the world when he caught a 756 pound all tackle world record blue marlin. That feat was covered by fishing magazines and newspapers worldwide, including the New York Times.

Mike was always a key man on the development and growth of Puerto Rico as a sport fishing destination, and was involved in many projects during the 1960’s and 70’s: The International Billfish Tournament at Club Náutico de San Juan, Johnny Harms’ marina in St. Thomas, the USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (Boys Scout) and the first tournament at Little Dix. At the time, Mike was fishing the North Drop in St. Thomas during the months of June, July, August and September, routinely hooking 10-12 blue marlins a day.

During the decade of the 1970’s, Mike decided to explore new horizons and discover new fishing destinations. During those years he fished Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina and Louisiana in the United States, as well as Brazil, Venezuela, Panama and Australia, where he caught a 1,162 pound black marlin with captain Peter Wright. That adventurous spirit never ceased, and his search for new fishing grounds and bigger fish eventually led him to the Madeira Islands where he had a fishing charter during the 1990’s.

This past summer Mike Benitez was the first recipient of the Chester H. Wolfe Outstanding Sportsmanship Award given by the IGFA.

We will miss him but we will remember him with joy. May the Lord embrace him and give him eternal life.

Ricardo LeFranc

Club Nautico – San Juan, Puerto Rico

Fishing Ban Extended at One of the Last Spawning Areas for the Nassau Grouper

December 19, 2011 at 1:03 am | Posted in Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation | Leave a comment
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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 Moon has 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 (click here for a preview).  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.”

Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation President Steve Stock Named to Board of Directors for The Center for Coastal Conservation

December 7, 2011 at 12:31 am | Posted in Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a comment
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Washington, DC – December 6, 2001 - The Center for Coastal Conservation, an organization formed to promote good stewardship of America’s marine resources, today elected Steve Stock, President of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, to its Board of Directors.

The Center for Coastal Conservation is a coalition of leading individual, institutional and corporate advocates for marine recreational fishing and boating. Among its prominent members, the Center includes institutional partners, such as the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), International Game Fish Association (IGFA), The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).

The Center for Coastal Conservation’s role is to affect public policy related to the conservation of marine resources with broad abilities to pursue political solutions. The organization is non-partisan and focuses on having an impact in the national political arena, principally Congress and federal regulatory agencies.

As president of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), Stock works closely with a Board of Directors to set policy and implement numerous programs designed to inspire scientific research and innovative educational programs to encourage conservation and best management practices for sustainable marine environments.

In only its fourth year of existence, GHOF has been front and center internationally with its support—in both science and grants—to provide common sense solutions to reversing overfishing, pollution and other threats to the marine ecosystem.

Numerous organizations and causes have benefited from GHOF support over the years, including the Guy Harvey Research Institute at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Bimini Biological Field Station, University of Florida: Florida Museum of Natural History, Mote Marine Laboratory, The Ocean Foundation, Florida Sea Grant’s Guy Harvey Scholarship, Florida State University, University of South Florida, Florida International University, University of Texas, University of Southern Mississippi, Central Caribbean Marine Institute and the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami.

Last month the GHOF was honored as the Outstanding Foundation by the Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) as part of the 2011 National Philanthropy Day Celebration.

The Center for Coastal Conservation activities include advancing marine resource policy initiatives by influencing federal decision makers and by exerting a direct impact on the national political process. It built the Center for Coastal Conservation Political Action Committee – Center PAC – so its individual members can promote marine conservation issues in federal elections.

The Center worked in 2007 to secure an Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush protecting redfish and striped bass as federal gamefish. Its leadership also worked to achieve a 2008 Executive Order protecting recreational fishing on all federal lands and waters. Currently, the Center for Coastal Conservation is encouraging the White House to move its National Ocean Policy toward responsible uses of ocean resources, rather than protectionism. The Center also led the effort for President Obama to appoint The Billfish Foundation’s Ellen Peel as his commissioner in international fisheries.

Other corporate sustaining members of the Center include AFTCO, Grady White Boats, Shimano and Yamaha.

Stock will serve as a sustaining member of the Center for Coastal Conservation for a minimum of three years.

Bimini Offshore Fishing Forecast – December 2011

December 4, 2011 at 3:16 am | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a comment
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Compliments of Coastal Angler Magazine – Flahama Edition

Bimini will be crawling with wahoo this month. The fish will be thick and of good size. The cold fronts in November worked their magic and this trend is predicted to continue in December. The fronts will push the wahoo along the Bank of Bimini. You will want to troll the ledges zigzagging in anywhere from 150 feet to 600 feet of water. Keep your trolling speed high (at least 10 knots).

My favorite rig for trolling high speeds is a combination double-hooked lure with wahoo belly strips. Your best combinations are traditional colors: black and purple, black and red, or blue and white. Other migratory species you will find in Bimini in December include a strong showing of kingfish and some dolphin and white marlin. They all like the cooler water temps.

December is usually somewhat rough and windy so deep dropping would not be recommended unless you get a couple of calm days between fronts.

Catch ‘em up!

FORECAST BY: Capt. Billy Black 
Bimini Big Game Club/Guy Harvey Outpost Resort 
Alice Town, Bimini, Bahamas 
Phone: (242) 559-3391
Cell (242) 359-6513
Email: Captbillyblack@yahoo.com

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