Each year we honor our planet with Earth Day. Many of us participate in organized activities. Organized or not the most important thing to do is, get off the couch, get outside and get into nature! Ideally, …
Killing for Conservation? Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) has been leading the fight against this …
Immerse Yourself, Man’s Relationship with the Sea at the History of Diving Museum, April 15th 7pm. Alyssa Engiles presents the story of Man, Homo Delphinus to the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis. Come …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Staff Writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com. [Jupiter, FL–] If you have ever wanted to get up close and personal with schools of fish the size of Smart Cars as …
[Orange Beach, Ala.–]Scuba diving 90 feet deep on the sunken coastal freighter “The LuLu”, I was completely surrounded by a curtain of fish: shimmering minnows; fairly large amberjacks …
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 …
(Tavernier, FL) The five-foot-long green moray eel glides out of its coral reef cave and heads straight for the ballyhoo that Captain Spencer Slate dangles from two gloved fingers. The eel quickly …
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 …
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![](mailto:?subject=History of Diving Museum, FREE Presentation March 19, Dive Memorials, CLICK for details&body=<img src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dive-memorials.png" class="size-full" alt="Dive Memorials at the History of Diving Museum, FREE Presentation" /> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/dive-memorials-at-the-history-of-diving-museum-free-presentation/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=What Are Your Earth Day Plans?&body=Each year we honor our planet with Earth Day. Many of us participate in organized activities. Organized or not the most important thing to do is, get off the couch, get outside and get into nature! Ideally, get wet, but GET OUTSIDE!
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/nasa_modis_wonderglobe_lrg.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2686" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/nasa_modis_wonderglobe_lrg.jpg?w=660" alt="Image converted using ifftoany" width="660" height="660" /></a>
Here are some Earth Day suggestions:
Get out early and listen to the birds. They have lots to say first thing in the morning.
Go for a sunrise beach walk. Take a bag with you and fill it with trash on your way back.
Take the dog to a new park. Heck, take the kids to the park too!
Go snorkeling in the nearest body of water. What is there to be discovered?
Count the turtle nests at <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/st-pete-beach.html">Guy Harvey Outpost, St. Pete Beach</a>
Lie on your back in the sand and let it the grains fill the voids to support you.
<a href="http://ghofish.com/">Go Fish</a>!
Enjoy your church’s Earth Day activities.
Bike a new trail, take a different route.
Watch for the Green Flash at sunset from <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/west-end-grand-bahama-island/overview.html">Old Bahama Bay</a>, <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-bimini.html">Bimini Sands</a>, <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/islamorada-fl/rest.html">the Islander Bayside</a>, <a href="http://http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/st-pete-beach.html">St. Pete Beach</a>, or the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/beyond/southern-cross-club/overview.html">Southern Cross Club</a>.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/vaughfred-bonefish1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1424" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/vaughfred-bonefish1.jpg?w=660" alt="VaughFred.Bonefish" width="660" height="440" /></a>
Go paddle boarding on new waters or your favorite water.
Get away from city lights; lie on your back and count stars. (Island beaches are excellent for this.)
Walk through wet grass barefoot.
Paint a picture.
Plant something pretty in your yard.
<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/adventures/diving.html">Go Diving!</a>
Feed your senses, close your eyes and smell the plants, the sea and the earth around you.
Get on your hands and knees and grab hold of mother earth. Give her a hug, she deserves one.
Join Guy at Jacksonville Beach this Saturday April 25th 9-11 am for the <a href="http://www.guyharvey.com/">Jax Beach Clean-Up</a>! Registration takes place in front of Seawalk Pavilion at the corner of 1st Street N. & 1st Ave. N. Jacksonville Beach.
<a href="http://www.earthday.org/">EarthDay.org</a> has lots of organized activities for you to choose from.
PLEASE take the time to get outside and enjoy your planet.
For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/">www.ghofish.com</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost & their great resorts: <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/" target="_parent">http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/</a>
For the Guy Harvey Outpost Blog <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com/" target="_parent">www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com</a>
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<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/00-gho-logo.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2458" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/00-gho-logo.jpg?w=660" alt="00 GHO-Logo" width="500" height="500" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/what-are-your-earth-day-plans/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Killing for Conservation!&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2068" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg?w=225" alt="Lionfish Derbies Work, 908 Dead Lionfish Cannot All Be Wrong!" width="225" height="300" /></a> Killing for Conservation?Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> (REEF) has been leading the fight against this Indo-Pacific invader and after six years of Lionfish Derbies at Green Turtle Cay the evidence is clear: Lionfish Derbies Work! Lionfish now range from Brazil to North Carolina and beyond. They can live in fresh water too! The 908 Lionfish killed in this one day event was fewer than in previous years even with more divers and better weather. AND those fish that were killed this year were smaller than in previous years; another good sign. Lionfish Derbies will not send the fish back to the Pacific; they can however help local communities keep the population in check.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2071" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg?w=300" alt="Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain" width="300" height="200" /></a>Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain Click Image to Enlarge<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>, a <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> Expedition Lodge hosted the event. For six years, REEF scientists have conducted a Lionfish Census before and after each event to assess the impacts of the Derbies. REEF estimates that had these 908 demons been allowed to roam Abaco waters for another year they would have consumed between 700,000 and 2.2 MILLION! Native prey fish.Congratulations and Thanks to REEF & to The Green Turtle Club for executing a great event for an important conservation mission!For more information on <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> and other <a href="http://www.REEF.org/lionfish">Lionfish Derbies</a>.For More information on <a title="The Green Turtle Club" href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>For More information on <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/killing-for-conservation/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Explore Man’s Relationship with the Sea at the History of Diving Museum, Islamorada, April 15th&body=Immerse Yourself, Man’s Relationship with the Sea at the <a href="http://www.divingmuseum.org/">History of Diving Museum</a>, April 15th 7pm. Alyssa Engiles presents the story of Man, Homo Delphinus to the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/alyssa-engiles-history-of-diving-museum-friend.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2681 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/alyssa-engiles-history-of-diving-museum-friend.jpg?w=550" alt="Alyssa Engiles, History of Diving Museum & Friend" width="550" height="550" /></a>Alyssa Engiles, History of Diving Museum and Friend.
Come early to meet David Charash and learn about the underwater adventure of <a title="Cousteau Dives the Keys!" href="http://guyharveyoutpostnews.com/2014/06/11/cousteau-dives-the-keys/">Mission 31 </a>when Fabian Cousteau broke his grandfather’s endurance record.
The History of Diving Museum is located at: 82990 Overseas Hwy about one mile north of the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/islamorada-fl/islamorada-fl-overview.html">Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost</a>.
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For more information on the <a href="http://www.divingmuseum.org/">History of Diving Museum</a>
For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/">www.ghofish.com</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost & their great resorts: <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/" target="_parent">http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/</a>
For the Guy Harvey Outpost Blog <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com/" target="_parent">www.guyharveyoutpostnews.com</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost" target="_parent">https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost</a>
For Guy Harvey Outpost on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/GHOutpost" target="_parent">https://twitter.com/GHOutpost</a>
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![](mailto:?subject=Goliath Grouper Diving Season Peaks in South Florida&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/goliath2.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2934 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/goliath2.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a>Credit: Alan Egan
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Staff Writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com.
[Jupiter, FL--] If you have ever wanted to get up close and personal with schools of fish the size of Smart Cars as they check out the action in their underwater singles bars, now is your best opportunity.
Scores of Goliath grouper weighing hundreds of pounds are gathered at their annual spawning sites on reefs and wrecks in southeast and southwest Florida. They started showing up in August and will likely remain through early to mid-October.
By far the best viewing is on artificial reefs 60 feet and deeper from Boynton Beach to Jupiter in Palm Beach County. On a Sept. 12th dive on the 60-foot-deep MG 111 off Jupiter, Ryan Kobylski-- divemaster with Jupiter Dive Center-- counted 80 individuals hovering inside and around the wreck.
"This is the hot time," Kobylski said. "This is when they're all fired up."
The large, gentle, mottled-brown fish mostly ignore divers or move away when approached. But if you sit still on the bottom or hover stationary in the middle of the water column, they may swim up to you. When upset or frightened, they emit a sonic boom from deep in their throats. With lots of divers around, the MG 111 often sounds like an underwater bass drum concert.
Scientific tagging data shows Goliaths come from hundreds of miles away to reproduce on southeast Florida wrecks in late summer. Most are gone by mid-October, but a few stick around.
The giant groupers have been protected from all harvest since 1990 after their populations crashed due to overfishing by both hook-and-line and spear guns. Now, after 25 years of closure, stocks have bounced back-- prompting some commercial and recreational anglers and spearfishers to call for a resumption of harvest. That won't happen anytime soon, however, because state and federal fisheries managers don't expect to complete a new Goliath stock assessment until the middle of 2016. If the numbers show that the fishery has reached a sustainable level, then a limited harvest could be considered.
Over the past decade, some dive operators-- especially in Palm Beach County-- have come to rely on bountiful numbers of Goliaths for a substantial portion of their summertime income, as tourists travel from all over the world to interact with the huge creatures. Those business owners staunchly oppose lifting the harvest ban.
And, just recently, another potential impediment to a future harvest has come to light: high levels of the heavy metal mercury found in many of the largest Goliaths.
Dr. Chris Koenig, a Florida State University fisheries scientist who's been studying the species since the 1990s, says mercury levels are so high in fish over four feet long as to weaken and maybe even kill them. And that means people who eat them risk mercury poisoning. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration says no one should consume fish with levels higher than one part per million; Koenig and colleagues have detected up to four parts per million of mercury in many Goliaths they've examined.
"Commercial fishing is out of the question and recreational fishing is foolish," Koenig said. "Why would you want to kill something you couldn't eat?"
The problem with opening a fishery for smaller Goliaths in the two-to-three-foot range found mostly in shallowEverglades estuaries is removing fish before they've had a chance to spawn. Coupled with the massive cold-kill of juvenile Goliaths in early 2010, recovery of the species could suffer serious setbacks.
So for now, the best way to handle Goliaths is to enjoy their company underwater while they're around and release them quickly and unharmed if you catch them on hook and line.
******
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. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/goliath-grouper-diving-season-peaks-in-south-florida/){kind=link}
 in Orange Beach, Alabama){kind=link}
 in Orange Beach, Alabama&body=[Orange Beach, Ala.--]Scuba diving 90 feet deep on the sunken coastal freighter "The LuLu", I was completely surrounded by a curtain of fish: shimmering minnows; fairly large amberjacks chasing them; gray, red and vermillion snapper; and convict-striped spadefish. The shifting schools covered much of the surface of the 271-foot ship. A few lurid-colored exotic lionfish lurked around various ambush points, but unfortunately none of us aboard the Down Under dive charterboat had brought a spear gun.
Too bad, because we could have carried our catch over to the popular restaurant SALT at SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach where the dive boat docks. Chef Chris Sherrill and Chef Landon Benton would have prepared the lionfish in multiple creative dishes like they do with just about any other kind of fish their customers bring in. (More on that later.) Meanwhile, we simply enjoyed the swirl of colorful marine life populating the wreck.
"The LuLu" is the largest shipwreck in Alabama's vast array of artificial reefs, which include (but are not limited to): Army tanks, culvert pipes, bridge rubble, oil and gas platforms, big ships, small boats, and planes. Despite claiming only about 53 miles of coastline, Alabama boasts more than 14,000 manmade structures deployed in the Gulf from right off the beach to about 60 miles offshore, covering about 1,200 square nautical miles. In and around Mobile Bay lie another 30 smaller structures. The state plans to deploy another 600 reefs from the shore out to 70 feet deep, and it's almost ready to sink another big ship perhaps as early as this winter-- a 250-foot retired oceanographic survey vessel called the Fairfield New Venture--in about 125 feet of water.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LilaHarris2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4946" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LilaHarris2.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1367" /></a>
"We consider ourselves to have the largest and most productive artificial reef program in the country," said Craig Newton, a biologist who serves as Alabama's artificial reef chief.
For Newton, the artificial reef program is all about creating a diverse set of habitats for a wide range of marine animals-- as well as diving and fishing destinations for the state's residents and visitors.
"The more diverse you can make the artificial reef program, it's better able to withstand fishing pressure and produce large numbers of snappers each year," he said.
For example, Newton said, species like amberjack and snapper prefer larger, taller structures like ships and oil rigs while other species tend to favor smaller, shallower havens. And he plans to create "stepping stone" reefs to establish connectivity between near-shore and offshore regions. Some species such as gray snapper spend their early lives in inshore estuaries, then head to deep water to reproduce.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LilaHarris4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4947" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LilaHarris4.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1399" /></a>
A big reason Alabama has so many man-made diving and fishing reefs off its shores is that in addition to its own deployments, it permits private individuals to sink their own -- just as long as they are properly inspected to ensure they don't pollute the waters or pose a safety hazard. While these serve as private honey holes whose locations are not published on Alabama's artificial reef website <a href="http://www.outdooralabama.com/artificial-reefs/">www.outdooralabama.com/artificial-reefs/</a>, anyone who stumbles across them may fish or dive them.
On my second dive of the day with Down Under, we visited the Captain Shirley Brown, a 128-foot ferro-cement ship that once served as a waterborne club before being sent to the bottom about 85 feet deep two years ago. On that dive, I saw more amberjack and snapper and even larger lionfish than on the LuLu, and my dive buddy Chandra Wright spent her safety stop 20 feet deep fending off a pesky remora that tried to stick to her wetsuit, then gave her a kiss on the cheek before swimming off.
That evening at SALT, Sherrill prepared a delicious feast for Wright and me and our party including a charcuterie of meats and cheeses, quail gumbo, and crabmeat-stuffed grouper with fresh vegetable succotash. He told us to bring him lionfish the next time we dive, and said he could have created something from the remora if Wright had let it stick to her! He wasn't joking; he has whipped up culinary treasures from supposed 'trash' fish at other Alabama eateries. And I bet it would have tasted great.
(Photos courtesy of Lila Harris)
**********
If you plan a visit to the Orange Beach, Alabama area, a great place to stay is the Hilton Garden Inn, located on the beach. Visit <a href="http://HiltonGardenInnOrangeBeach.com">HiltonGardenInnOrangeBeach.com</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/dive-dive-dive-and-fish-in-orange-beach-alabama/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Receives Certificate of Appreciation on First Anniversary of USS Kittiwake Sinking&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/guyaward1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1042 " title="Guy Harvey receives certificate of appreciation for sponsorship of USS Kittiwake sinking" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/guyaward1.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="329" /></a>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 <a title="Sinking of the USS Kittiwake" href="http://guyharvey.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/cayman-islands-creates-new-artificial-reef-with-sinking-of-the-ex-uss-kittiwake/" target="_blank">USS Kittiwake</a> as an artificial reef, The <a title="CITA web site" href="http://www.cita.ky/" target="_blank">Cayman Islands Tourism Association</a> recently presented Cayman resident and celebrated marine wildlife artist and conservationist <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Dr. Guy Harvey</a> 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 <a title="About Seven Mile Beach" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Beach,_Grand_Cayman" target="_blank">Seven Mile Beach</a>. The <a title="GHRI web site" href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a> 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:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnggzEo5Nv0&list=UUK-ol6-5sVk_NcRHN1LtmOQ&index=3&feature=plcp https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-receives-certificate-of-appreciation-on-first-anniversary-of-uss-kittiwake-sinking/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Capt. Slate’s ‘Creature Feature’ Dive – New Location, New Thrills&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/slate.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-2903 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/slate.jpg?w=660" alt="Slate" width="660" height="256" /></a>
(Tavernier, FL) The five-foot-long green moray eel glides out of its coral reef cave and heads straight for the ballyhoo that Captain Spencer Slate dangles from two gloved fingers. The eel quickly gulps the bait then allows Slate to cradle it in his arms and stroke its slick sides. Slate holds the eel out to a ten-year-old diver sitting nearby who gives it a pat, and it returns to its cave.
"A sweetheart, a doll," Slate says later of the eel, who he has named Wasabi.
Slate has been making friends with eels, sharks, barracudas, Goliath groupers, and numerous other Upper Keys reef denizens since the late 1970s. His twice-weekly 'creature feature' feeding dives on Fridays and Sundays conducted from Captain Slate's Scuba Adventures Dive Center, a Guy Harvey Outpost outfitter in Tavernier, regularly draws a sell-out audience.
On a recent Sunday, two families from Fort Pierce-- both with newly certified scuba diving ten-year-old daughters-- travelled to the Keys for the third time to participate. Both girls thoroughly enjoyed the dive, and declared they would share photos and videos upon returning to school.
"They were cute!" one girl said of Wasabi and Lester, another green moray befriended by Slate.
Slate escorted his guests to the first dive at Davis Reef, a shallow, scenic coral ledge about 25 feet deep where Wasabi makes her home. Slate dropped to the bottom carrying a PVC canister filled with chum and bally hoo, quickly attracting a school of yellowtail snapper and grunts that followed the scent trail.
The captain stopped in front of a shallow cave near a large Southern stingray that rested half-buried in the sand and kept a wary eye on the food fest. The swarming snapper and grunts were so thick around the chum canister that the divers could barely see Slate. The divers settled down in the sand to see what would happen next.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-2907 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o.jpg?w=660" alt="10924171_770345289702868_1772420048942809884_o" width="660" height="339" /></a>
Wasabi appeared pretty quickly after Slate took out the first bally hoo. Her jaws flexed open and closed as she approached the bait, then devoured it. She held pretty still for all the public displays of affection by the humans, then went back to her cave to digest the meal. She never snapped at anybody.
The stingray, tired of the hoopla, slowly dusted itself off and swam away.
Slate let the schooling fish have their way in the chum slick for a little while, then got out another bally hoo for Wasabi. She re-emerged from her cave, ate her snack, indulged the divers, then departed.
None of Slate's guests has been injured by his featured creatures in decades, but he has. Following numerous nips to the fingers requiring multiple visits to a hand surgeon over the years, Slate began wearing chain-mail gloves. Even today, he has very little feeling in his digits. Trying to feed barracudas bally hoo clasped between his teeth, Slate has suffered split lips, a black eye and a severed nerve in his cheek.
"Like getting a haymaker from Sonny Liston," he said.
A Goliath grouper he fed regularly at the wreck of the City of Washington off Key Largo once swallowed his arm and part of his head in its haste to score a meal.
He just laughs off the injuries and vows to keep hanging with the sea life.
"You know me. If I find an eel, I am going to make a buddy out of it," he said.
On the second dive with the group from Fort Pierce, Slate headed to nearby Pleasure Reef where he is trying to cultivate a more solid friendship with Lester, another moray. Lester responded a bit slowly to the offered bally hoo and didn't want to hang around too long for the requisite love fest. But he didn't display any hostility, just shyness.
During that dive, the guests also spotted a large nurse shark and a sea turtle passing by. Nobody was scared -- just excited.
That's the whole purpose behind the creature feature, Slate said -- showing visitors that residents of the underwater world are not out to get them.
"I've done this my whole life, so people will respect them and get over the idea they'll eat you alive," Slate said.
That message certainly went a long way with two very exhilarated ten-year-old girls.
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. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/capt-slates-creature-feature-dive-new-location-new-thrills/){kind=link}
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