One whale shark successfully avoided research scientists for several years FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. – For humans, the concept of social distancing is really just a few months old. But for …
FWC Decides Not to Reopen Snook Season on Florida’s West Coast
29 Jun 20127:01 PM
Catch & release still permitted during closure
NOTE: This story was posted today on TampabayOnline.com by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this week that the snook fishing season will remain closed on the state’s west coast, rather than reopening Sept. 1 as scheduled.
The season has been closed due to a 2010 cold-kill, which wiped out tens of thousands of fish from Clearwater to Naples.
“This is a wise move,” said snook guide Scott Moore of Holmes Beach. “I’m seeing big fish and a few slot (keeper-sized) fish, but no little fish — we’re missing whole-year classes due to the winter kill, and we need to get more in the pipeline before we start taking them again.”
The continued closure also was supported by the Coastal Conservation Association, which said that the number of adult snook on the west coast was down 20 percent after the freeze, and the numbers of juvenile fish killed was probably much greater.
The season will reopen Sept. 1, 2013, if the commission takes no further action.
Catch-and-release fishing for snook is permitted during the closure.
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![](mailto:?subject=FWC Decides Not to Reopen Snook Season on Florida’s West Coast&body=<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg"><img title=""Side-Liners" by Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="282" /></a>
Catch & release still permitted during closure
NOTE: This story was posted today on <a title="TBO.com" href="http://www2.tbo.com/" target="_blank">TampabayOnline.com</a> by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this week that the snook fishing season will remain closed on the state's west coast, rather than reopening Sept. 1 as scheduled.
The season has been closed due to a 2010 cold-kill, which wiped out tens of thousands of fish from Clearwater to Naples.
"This is a wise move," said snook guide Scott Moore of Holmes Beach. "I'm seeing big fish and a few slot (keeper-sized) fish, but no little fish — we're missing whole-year classes due to the winter kill, and we need to get more in the pipeline before we start taking them again."
The continued closure also was supported by the Coastal Conservation Association, which said that the number of adult snook on the west coast was down 20 percent after the freeze, and the numbers of juvenile fish killed was probably much greater.
The season will reopen Sept. 1, 2013, if the commission takes no further action.
Catch-and-release fishing for snook is permitted during the closure. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fwc-decides-not-to-reopen-september-1st-snook-season-on-floridas-west-coast/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Great Marlin Race May Come to Galapagos&body=Last March, Californian Bob Kurz, a trustee with the International Game Fish Association, and his IGFA rep wife Sally took an important step to advance billfish science around the world: they implanted a striped marlin with a pop-off satellite tag while fishing around Ecuador's <a href="https://guyharveyoutpost.com/adventure/outpost-adventures/expeditions/galapagos-big-game-fishing/">Galapagos Islands</a>.
The tag, scheduled to detach from the fish's dorsal fin after 240 days, was the first to be implanted in a billfish in the remote Pacific islands as part of the IGFA's Great Marlin Race. Since the IGFA took over the international tournament-within-a-tournament in 2011, some 350 satellite tags have been deployed in billfish in 22 countries. The tags record fish tracks in real time, including depth, temperature and other data, then relays them to a satellite which beams the information to researchers at California's Stanford University. Anglers buy the $4,500 tags and receive special recognition for the distances their tagged fish travel.
Sally Kurz caught the striper, estimated at 200 pounds, while trolling lures on the sport fishing boat Vertigo from the Galapagos Planet Hotel, a <a href="https://guyharveyoutpost.com/lodging/out-island-lodges/">Guy Harvey Outpost Lodge</a> on <a href="https://guyharveyoutpost.com/lodging/out-island-lodges/galapagos/san-cristobal/">San Cristobal Island</a>. The couple also caught and released numerous yellowfin tuna. They were accompanied by a representative of the Galapagos National Park.
"They liked what we were doing," Bob Kurz said of park officials. "They are very interested in learning more about the billfish that frequent the Galapagos."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/tag.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4901" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/tag.jpg" alt="" width="3264" height="2448" /></a>
Kurz was so encouraged by the park's receptiveness that he is putting together a proposal to hold the first formal Great Marlin Race Tournament in the Galapagos in January 2019. He says that's prime time for catching stripers as well as blue and black marlin around the islands.
"Wherever you have a species, you try to deploy tags in as many different places as you can," Kurz said.
For example, Kurz said, tagging data helps solve mysteries such as why the average striper caught in California weighs about 140 pounds while fish over 300 pounds are common in New Zealand-- "whether they are separate and distinct populations," he said.
The tagging data also helps scientists inform fisheries managers who are hammering out policies to conserve billfish, such as time-and-area closures, gear restrictions and other measures.
"It's a citizen science program," Kurz said. "Very exciting for people who enjoy fishing for marlin."
******
You don't have to wait for the next Great Marlin Race to fish for billfish in Galapagos. Book your lodging and fishing with Galapagos Planet, a Guy Harvey Outpost Expedition Lodge at <a href="https://www.guyharveyoutpost.com">www.guyharveyoutpost.com</a> or call 1-800-513-5257.
To learn more about the Great Marlin Race, visit <a href="https://www.igfa.org">www.igfa.org</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/great-marlin-race-may-come-to-galapagos/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Kent Ullberg Visits with GH Outpost at Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show&body=The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is billed as the world's largest boat show, and it certainly lived up to the hype on Friday as huge crowds packed the exhibit areas. The Guy Harvey booth was swamped the entire day, with industry pros and Average Joes alike extending their well-wishes and congratulations on the reopening of the Bimini Big Game Club.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/flbs-kentullberg.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-233" title="Kent Ullberg and friends at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/flbs-kentullberg.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a>
One of the many industry celebrities that passed through to visit with the Guy Harvey Outpost team was famed sculptor Kent Ullberg, who delighted fans of the BBGC with his tale of how he came to select a swordfish for display in front of the IGFA HQ in Dania Beach, and how the sculpture came to be cast in stainless steel rather than the traditional bronze.
Kent originally won the job after the IGFA conducted a worldwide search for the right artist and design. Kent's concept was inspired by memories of catching swordfish from his family's commercial fishing boat in his native Sweden, a selection that also fit well within the scope of the IGFA due to the swordfish's iconic stature in big game fishing. The IGFA's architect wanted the sculpture to match the stainless steel exterior of the building, but the technology for casting in stainless steel didn't exist at that time. However, Kent rose to the challenge, figured out the correct process, and is now considered the world's leading expert on casting in stainless steel.
Kent's talents will again be put on display when he designs the Lerner Trophy, a perpetual award that will be given each year at the Bimini Big Game Club's blue marlin tournament, an annual event that will kick off this coming May 18th. Stay tuned for more details. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/kent-ullberg-visits-with-gh-outpost-at-ft-lauderdale-boat-show/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Help Save Bluefin Tuna&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/igfa-call-to-action2.jpg"><img src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/igfa-call-to-action2.jpg?w=300" alt="IGFA Call to Action" width="300" height="63" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1665" /></a>
Please take 30 seconds to <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618/212/596/" target="_blank">sign this petition today</a> and help end the waste of bluefin tuna in the U.S. and ensure that surface longlingers, not recreational fishermen, are held accountable for incidental bycatch.<a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618/212/596/" target="_blank"><img alt="Sign Today!" src="https://membership.igfa.org/image/conservation/Sign-Today-230.jpg" width="231" height="84" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1665" /></a>
Surface longlines kill thousands of hard-fighting game fish, including white marlin, sailfish, and bluefin tuna. In 2012, the fishery threw back dead nearly 25% of the U.S. bluefin quota. Please join us in calling on NOAA Fisheries to implement strong measures that will protect spawning bluefin in the Gulf of Mexico and reduce unwanted catch off North Carolina, hold surface longliners accountable for bluefin bycatch, maintain current bluefin quota allocations, and promote increased fishing opportunities for recreational anglers.It takes less than a minute to <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618/212/596/">sign on your support </a>and help protect this iconic species. Want to make a bigger impact? Check the box to share your signature on Facebook and help us reach 25,000 supporters today!The International Game Fish Association<br />300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida, 33004 USA<br /><a href="https://membership.igfa.org/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fwww.igfa.org&srcid=8092&srctid=1&erid=2363181&trid=e26f1a6c-c933-4c97-9eef-5d0b739512f5" target="_blank">www.igfa.org</a> | <a href="tel:954-927-2628" target="_blank">954-927-2628</a> | <a href="mailto:hq@igfa.org" target="_blank">hq@igfa.org</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/help-save-the-bluefins/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Billfish Invitational Day 2 – Big Marlin, Big Whales and a Big Honor!&body=During this week’s Billfish Invitational tournament, Fred Garth, Editor-In-Chief of <a title="GHM web site" href="http://www.guyharveymagazine.com/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Magazine</a>, will be filing a series of dispatches from tournament headquarters at the Bimini Big Game Club.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bbgcwhaleshark.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-750" title="Team Tag Line takes a break from billfishing to swim with a whale shark!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bbgcwhaleshark.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="389" /></a>Team Tag Line takes a break from fishing the tournament to swim with a whale shark!
Bimini – day two on the water was as much of a Big Game as it was a Billfish Tournament. Six billfish were hooked and almost every boat saw fish for the second day in a row. Also, two boats came in with amazing stories of swimming with whales.
<a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> spent the day riding with Tedd and Tammy Amberg on the Hillary Lynn where they had a front row seat watching an aerial display of a blue marlin on the vessel Southside, which was fishing nearby.
Three of the fish hooked were reported over 500 pounds and two of blues on the line were in the 200-300 pounds. Also seen were a tailing white marlin and several free jumping billfish.
“It’s been a good run of nice sized fish,” said Tournament Director Ned Stone, “and we’ve had good fishing. Of course, there’s always the challenge of getting big fish to the boat.”
The tournament has been blessed with sunny skies and light winds providing excellent conditions for sighting other big beasts. In the spirit of Guy Harvey’s passion for marine conservation and swimming with large marine animals, one team was able to get into the water with a pod of pilot whales and another team swam for a half hour with a whale shark.
Erik Akins and Robert Collins of the Last Dance Team spotted a pod of pilot whales and hailed Chris Peterson from the <a title="Hell's Bay Boatworks web site" href="http://www.hellsbayboatworks.com" target="_blank">Hell’s Bay</a> Hopper Team on the radio. Peterson’s team swam with the whales and said that they were eating a big blue fin tuna.
“One of the whales swam by with the tuna’s head in its mouth,” Peterson said. “Another had the body of the tuna. They were sharing the fish. It was pretty incredible.
Gaston Legorburu’s Tag Line team came back to the dock with stories and photos of swimming and riding a 16-20 foot whale shark.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/frankstribute2.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-745 " title="Presentation of the Frank Johnson Perpetual Trophy" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/frankstribute2.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="295" /></a>Left to right: Bill Shedd, Tim Choate, Shelley Johnson, Ed Pang, Frank Johnson, Mark Ellert, Guy Harvey, Charlie Forman, Kent Ullberg and Frank Johnson Jr.
The day ended with a fabulous tribute dinner for Frank Johnson, creator of the iconic <a title="Mold Craft web site" href="http://www.moldcraft.com" target="_blank">Mold Craft</a> soft head lures. Many stories were told, some not to be repeated herein, and artist Ed Pang presented his perpetual trophy to Frank which displays a bronze Mold Craft lure a top of a jumping marlin.
VIP guests in attendance were Tim Choate, Bill Shedd, Kent Ullberg, Guy Harvey, Charlie Forman, Frank Johnson, Jr., and of course Frank Johnson and his wife Shelley. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/740-2/){kind=link}
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