The treasure won’t consist of authentic pieces of eight, nor will it be buried. But divers will still get to hunt for some special hidden coins at two popular South Florida dive sites under the full …
[Crystal River, FL–] Mist rises from the murky green surface of Kings Bay as our group of snorkelers quietly enters the water. The air temperature this January morning is a chilly 40 degrees, but the …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com Marine artist/conservationist/cinematographer Dr. Guy Harvey this week is scuba diving at one of the most exciting and ecologically-important …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com [Palmdale, FL–] A paddler would be hard-pressed to find a more scenic, tranquil waterway in South Florida to explore …
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![](mailto:?subject=Diving the Grouper Moon&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3275 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/grouper.jpg?w=300" alt="Grouper" width="300" height="222" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Marine artist/conservationist/cinematographer Dr. Guy Harvey this week is scuba diving at one of the most exciting and ecologically-important sites in the Caribbean-- a coral wall about 100 feet deep near Little Cayman Island recognized as one of the largest spawning aggregation sites for endangered Nassau grouper anywhere.
Harvey plans to gather more video footage for "The Mystery of the Grouper Moon"--a documentary he first produced with George Schellenger in 2011. The aim is to help build a groundswell among Caymanians to continue protection for Nassaus that use the site for reproduction each year around the full moons in January and February.
Harvey's efforts paid off when the Cayman government extended a harvest ban in the area through 2019. But he said that's not enough to ensure a sustainable Nassau population.
"Our goal is to get the population here in Cayman up to 10,000 and repopulate the other islands and bring this fishery back to its former glory," Harvey said.
Not so long ago, tens of thousands of Nassau grouper-- a beautiful, slow-growing, and unfortunately very tasty reef-dweller-- reproduced successfully at five sites around the Cayman Islands in winter. But fishermen quickly figured this out and so decimated the aggregation that the only spawning site left in the area is off Little Cayman.
This pattern of overfishing also occurred at some 50 other spawning sites in the Caribbean and Bahamas, rendering between one-third and one-half of them inactive.
Today, the harvest of Nassau grouper is banned year round in the U.S.; prohibited December through February in the Bahamas, but open everywhere in the Cayman Islands except off Little Cayman.
Harvey would like to see all Nassau harvest closed in the Cayman Islands from November through March, and he's not alone.
The Key Largo-based Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and the Cayman Department of the Environment have been researching the "Grouper Moon" for the past 13 years-- counting fish; implanting them with acoustic tags; collecting larvae and performing other research.
Harvey said it's fascinating observing the scientists working with the fish.
"The area is spectacular-- a wall on the western side of Little Cayman," he said. "They spawn at dusk in about 100 feet in the current. They turn black and white as they spawn-- one to two dozen males with one female. One of the wonders of nature. Very exciting,"
Harvey said efforts to protect the aggregation-- while not as comprehensive as he would like--have achieved some benefits. In 2010, he said, researchers counted about 2,500 spawners. Last winter, he said, about 5,000 were found reproducing at the site.
"I get first hand the feeling on how the spawning population has improved from previous years," he said. "It really is working."
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/diving-the-grouper-moon-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Fun Up the Creek With a Paddle&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3250 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/fisheatingcreek.jpg?w=300" alt="FisheatingCreek" width="300" height="225" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
[Palmdale, FL--] A paddler would be hard-pressed to find a more scenic, tranquil waterway in South Florida to explore than Fisheating Creek. Unlike many in the region, its water levels are not manipulated by humans, but dependent entirely on rainfall. No buildings line its banks except for the small office at the Fisheating Creek Outpost campground in tiny Palmdale. Mostly, it's just you in your kayak or canoe-- maybe an occasional hunter passing by in a john boat-- and gators, birds and frogs for miles around.
Fisheating Creek-- derived from a Native American phrase for " the creek where fish are eaten"--lives up to its name. It's loaded with bass, bluegill, and bream. Flowing gently south and east from rural Highlands County for about 50 miles to Lake Okeechobee, the creek is a narrow, shady, shallow haven for wildlife. If you are quiet, you might spy deer, wild turkey, and hogs as you glide by. The state of Florida controls the creek corridor, maintaining public access while the upland regions are mostly cattle pastures owned by the agribusiness giant Lykes Bros.
I enjoyed a nearly effortless seven-mile paddle down the creek at year's end, buoyed by unseasonably high water levels from recent rains that required no wading nor dragging my kayak over shallow sandbars. Sunny, breezy weather tamped down annoying insects and made for a comfortable three-hour float downstream.
An Outpost shuttle driver transported my kayak and me to the put-in site popular with day-trippers called Burnt Bridge. Had I desired a longer trip, I could have been shuttled further north to Ingram's Crossing-- a 16-mile, full-day or overnight excursion. Using the Outpost shuttle is the only way to access the creek upstream from the campground because you have to pass through several locked gates on Lykes property to get there.
Decades ago, paddling almost the entire length of the creek to its terminus in Lake Okeechobee was possible, but not today. The shuttle driver told me it is paddle-able for about 45 minutes south of the campground to a spot called Rock Lake. Beyond Rock Lake, he said, the stream is too choked with vegetation to continue.
No matter. I had plenty of spectacular natural scenery and wildlife to occupy me for my entire trip. I glided through towering cypress forest with many boughs still bright green despite the winter season. Their knobby knee roots lined the creek banks like columns of small soldiers. Overhead, crows, herons and ibis called, squawked, and grunted as I floated by.
I think I had only been underway for about 20 minutes when I came upon my first gator-- a five-footer sunning itself on a sandbar. I slowed down, and barely was able to snap off a photo before it slid into the creek and disappeared. Over the next three hours or so, I passed another 14 of the reptiles, one of them a jowly monster that looked to be about ten feet long. Without exception, they either ignored me or departed quickly at my approach. For some reason, I didn't see any snakes or turtles.
Since it was a weekday, watercraft traffic was light. I came upon exactly one small motorboat and a party of three kayaks.
"You're the first person we've seen for days!" joked one of the paddlers.
It is theoretically possible to get lost on Fisheating Creek, but you would have to try really hard. The route is marked with small directional signs and blue blazes on the trees. If you ever find yourself between markers, uncertain how to proceed, simply go with the flow-- following the strongest line of current downstream.
I stopped for lunch at a scenic sand spit dubbed Nude Beach on my trail map. It was deserted; no naked people anywhere around. However, as I munched on chicken tenders, I did spy two tail drags in the sand that doubtless were made by nude alligators.
Fish splashed and birds conducted me from the tree canopy as I continued downstream. Then I came upon a startling sight: a large, gray, roundish structure about six feet tall attached to a tree on the left bank. Peering closer, I saw that it was a really big wasp nest! I snapped a photo and pushed quickly away. Not long after that, I arrived back at the campground.
What a fun morning it had been. Beautiful scenery, non-threatening wildlife and no bug bites. I'll have to do the long version next time.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fun-up-the-creek-with-a-paddle-2/){kind=link}
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