By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com “Artemis! Let’s go hunting!” Chad Bumb told his 18-month-old Pudelpointer as they trudged through a rough …
Get Your AARGH on with Guy Harvey Outpost Outfitter Full Moon Treasure Dives
10 Feb 20162:44 AM
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 moon Feb. 22 and then redeem them for Guy Harvey swag and other prizes, including scuba trips and gear.
This month’s Guy Harvey Outpost Full Moon Treasure Dive is the first of a series of monthly night dives being conducted by Outpost Outfitters South Florida Diving Headquarters in Pompano Beach and Capt. Slate’s Scuba Adventures in Tavernier, Florida Keys. Enough coins will be sprinkled around the dive sites so that everyone has a shot at taking home a prize. A grand prize of a three-night lodging package at Hotel Playa Media Luna, a Guy Harvey Outpost expedition property in Isla Mujeres, Mexico will be awarded at season’s end.
Captain Jeff Torode of South Florida Diving Headquarters plans to host a one-tank dive departing from his new dock at Sands Harbor Resort at 6 p.m. to the wreck of the Ancient Mariner, 70 feet deep off Pompano Beach. Upon returning to the dock, divers will exchange their coins for prizes and enjoy a waterside after-party at the tiki bar.
Captain Spencer Slate will conduct a one-tank dive departing at 6 p.m. from his Tavernier headquarters to the popular Davis Reef, about 30 feet deep off Islamorada. In addition to hunting for hidden treasure coins, divers may enjoy a visit with Wasabi– a large, friendly green moray eel who frequents the reef. (Don’t worry; Wasabi isn’t interested in grabbing a share of the treasure.) An after-party and prize-giving will be held at Slate’s dock, followed by an optional after-after party at the nearby Morada Bay Resort in Islamorada.
For reservations or more information, call 1-800-513-5257.
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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.
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![](mailto:?subject=Taking the Back Country in the Blazing Mako&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3389 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/black.jpg?w=300" alt="Black" width="300" height="222" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Even though the Guy Harvey Outpost <a href="http://www.blazingmako.com" target="_blank">Blazing Mako Festival and Fishing Tournament</a> is still four months away, it's not too early to sign up your team or start plotting a strategy for claiming $10,000 in prize money-- particularly if you enter the inshore division.
The tournament date of June 18 falls squarely during the peak of the inshore fishing season in and around the Florida Keys and two days before the full moon. Catching, measuring, photographing and releasing the eligible back country species of permit, bonefish, tarpon, snook, redfish and the funfish category of shark, ladyfish, jack and trout for points, cash, and bragging rights won't be as challenging as during other seasons of the year.
Anglers will be allowed to enter a maximum of five fish in each category using live bait, artificial lures, or fly tackle. More points will be awarded for lures and fly rod.
"This is a great time of year to catch all these species," said seven-year veteran Keys light-tackle guide captain Richard Black, who fishes from a 17-foot, 8-inch Hells Bay Professional skiff.
Black said his strategy would be to locate small tarpon first thing in the morning in Florida Bay-- likely near Snake Bight-- and fish with fly rod (if the angler were capable), or with small Mir-O-Lure plugs or light jigs. Snook and redfish tend to inhabit the same territory at that time of year and likely would bite the same offerings.
Once you've racked up enough points for those three species, Black says step two would be to blind-cast a jig or plug for ladyfish. You could enter the larger ones in the funfish category and keep a few to hang off the skiff while anchored to attract lemon sharks to within fly-casting range.
"In a good spot with good current, you could catch five sharks on fly pretty quick," Black said.
Then if you are lucky enough to have sufficient sunlight in mid- to late afternoon, the guide said, you could look for bonefish in Florida Bay or on the ocean side of the Upper Keys. Bonefish almost never turn down fresh shrimp, and they also are likely to bite small jigs and shrimp-patterned flies.
"I know some anglers I'd lead off with fly and switch to bait," Black added. "You have to fish the conditions. If conditions are crappy and you have to cover more water, you would use a spinning rod."
Black believes it will take 1,500 to 2,000 points to score a top-three finish.
Even if you don't accumulate nearly that score, it will be more than fun to try and then you get to celebrate at the awards party at the Islander-- a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort in Islamorada.
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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/taking-the-back-country-in-the-blazing-mako-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Brendal’s Dive Center, A Guy Harvey Outfitter & Green Turtle Cay’s Reef Sharks&body=If you want to dive in the northeastern Bahamas there is really only one man to see, Brendal Stevens. There are other dive operators but <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/adventures/diving.html">Brendal's Dive Center</a> stands above all the rest and the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">Green Turtle Club </a>gets you right on top of some of the best and most exciting dives including a variety of big animals.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/123.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2157 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/123.jpg?w=660" alt="123" width="660" height="489" /></a>If you want to get certified to SCUBA dive Brendal can teach you from square one or handle your check out dives for PADI, NAUI, SSI or SDI. In 2006 the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism awarded Brendal with it's Cacique Award for Sustainable Tourism. This is the Bahamian "Oscar!" If you are ready for some big animals Brendal can put you with the "Silver King" tarpon, giant grouper, the island's name sake Green Turtles or those camera hogs with the big grins, Sharks! Nurse sharks are seen on many of Brendal's dives. If you want to see the "Sexy Stars" of the show, the Caribbean Reef Sharks then one of his Shark Observation Dives is the way to go. Shark Week may be coming to a close but our big animal "Stars" are available year round. Don't miss the show, call the Outpost Reservations Desk to find out more at (800) 513-5257. <a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/brendals-dec-5-2011-839.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-2158" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/brendals-dec-5-2011-839.jpg?w=660" alt="Photo: Brendal's Dive Center & Water Sports, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas" width="660" height="495" /></a>Photo: Brendal's Dive Center & Water Sports, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/brendals-dive-center-a-guy-harvey-outfitter-green-turtle-cays-reef-sharks/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Lassoing Tigers by the Tail&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934055_121444225965_813001_n1.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-2800 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934055_121444225965_813001_n1.jpg?w=267" alt="1934055_121444225965_813001_n" width="267" height="300" /></a>By Sue Cocking | <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost</a>
It looked more like the marine version of a rodeo than a scientific expedition in the clear, shallow waters of Tiger Beach off West End, Grand Bahama Island in the spring of 2009. Dr. Guy Harvey-- renowned marine artist, scientist, conservationist and cinematographer--and a handful of colleagues were trying to capture a 9 1/2 -foot tiger shark-- one of several for which the shoal was named-- so they could implant it with an acoustic transmitter tag. The tag emits a signature beep that is picked up by an underwater receiver installed in the area. Whenever a tagged shark passes within 300-500 meters of the receiver, it stores the signal to be downloaded onto a computer. So far, the shark had successfully eluded the scientists, but they weren't giving up.
Not nearly as high-tech as today's satellite tracking tags, which can follow a shark's moment-by-moment travel for up to several years, acoustic tags are nonetheless useful, showing when and how often an animal uses a specific area. They are also a lot cheaper than the $3,500 satellite tag.
"We should tag every one of these animals to see where they go," Harvey said. "The ultimate would be to have the species protected or--if not-- this area of the Bahama Bank could be designated no shark fishing. This is the beginning of what will hopefully be a 20-year study where we involve the Bahamian government, researchers from various institutions, dive operators."
Eventually, Harvey-- along with Dr. Mahmood Shivji, professor and director of Nova Southeastern University's Guy Harvey Research Institute and their fellow researchers--managed to lasso their target underwater, bring it to the dive platform of their boat and implant the tag in its belly. It swam away smartly.
Fast-forward six years to 2015 and you'll find that Harvey's tiger shark research and conservation efforts have reaped a handsome return. Expanding well beyond the Bahamas, recent long-term satellite tagging data reported in the June 9 issue of the journal Scientific Reports details previously unknown migration patterns covering thousands of miles between completely different ecosystems.
The study-- led by Nova Southeastern University scientists James Lea, Brad Wetherbee and Shivji and co-authored by Harvey-- found that tigers tagged in Bermuda travelled more than 7,500 kilometers round-trip between the open waters of the mid-North Atlantic and the coral reefs of the Bahamas and Caribbean each year. Like snowbirds, the male sharks spent winters in warm waters, headed as far north as Connecticut in summer, then returned to the same favorite winter hang-outs in the tropics.
One shark named Harry Lindo covered the longest tracked distance--27,000 miles-- ever documented for a tiger.
For Harvey, Shivji and the other scientists, the findings have profound implications for tiger shark conservation. The animals, listed as near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, are protected from harvest in Bahamian and Florida waters. But as a target in the lucrative shark fin soup trade, they don't enjoy the same safe haven in other waters where they travel.
Said Harvey: "Understanding how these animals use the oceans is the first step toward effective conservation. Protecting migratory species is a great challenge because they can be found in such a wide area. Protecting the areas where animals such as tiger sharks spend the most time is a tractable goal once those areas have been identified."
To track the movement of the tiger sharks tagged by the Guy Harvey Research Institute, visit the <a href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/tracking/" target="_blank">GHRI shark tracking web site</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/lassoing-tigers-by-the-tail-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=DEEPEND: Catching Weird Mini-Monsters from the Deep Sea&body=Inside several lockers on the fifth floor of the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center at Nova Southeastern University near Fort Lauderdale are jars full of some of the weirdest-looking sea creatures that anyone has ever seen.
Cartoon-like miniature orange monsters with long, rapier teeth sticking out of their faces; telescope fish with goggle-like eyes that retract into their heads; dragonfish that light up like Christmas trees; anglerfish that dangle lure-like appendages with actual hooks to entice their prey.
All were collected about 3,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico by scientists from the Deep Pelagic Nekton Dynamics Consortium, or DEEPEND-- a collaboration of nine universities and other research groups led by Dr. Tracey Sutton, associate professor at NSU's Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. And the researchers are eager to share their never-before findings with the world.
"We want to make people aware of the life and diversity down deeper than anyone ever goes," Sutton said. "There's ten times more pure mass of these deep-sea fish than the shallower-water fishes."
Sutton and his colleagues began towing large pelagic trawl nets to collect specimens in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil gusher which spewed 210 million gallons into the Gulf and killed 11 workers in 2010. The scientists were hired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to find out what kinds of marine life lived down in the dark, freezing depths that may have been impacted by the spill.
The scientists netted over a million specimens of 700 different species that took them four years to identify. It's the first baseline data set of its kind in the world.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fish2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4515" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fish2.jpg" alt="fish2" width="840" height="560" /></a>
"There were over 60 species that had never been found in the Gulf, including a new species of anglerfish," Sutton said. " Now we've got a big list. The deep part of the Gulf may be the best known of all the oceans of the world."
Besides looking very weird and flashing lights from various appendages on their bodies, Sutton said some of these deep-dwellers rise to the surface at night where they can be dip-netted. South Florida anglers sometimes find them in the bellies of the swordfish and marlin they catch.
You can check out photos and blogs on DEEPEND's work at <a href="http://www.deependconsortium.org">www.deependconsortium.org</a>. Scientists also give talks at boat shows, fishing clubs, and public and private schools to rave reviews. They invite teachers to join them on their research cruises.
Now operating under a grant which expires later this year, Sutton hopes to extend DEEPEND's work for two more years in order to find out how the oil spill may have affected life in the deep. Commercially and recreationally-important blue marlin and bluefin tuna are known to spawn in the waters where the disaster occurred, and one member of the consortium is studying the larvae of those two species to see if there are changes.
Sutton notes that following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound, it took four years for that region's first ecological collapse to occur. Today, more than six years after Deepwater Horizon, about one-quarter of the oil that gushed into the Gulf has not been accounted for. And DEEPEND and others would like to determine the effects of the oil combined with Corexit, the toxic chemical used to disperse it.
"We're just now getting enough data to see how things changed naturally and because of that, to see how things may have changed because of the oil spill," Sutton said. "We have a lot better idea what lives below 1,000 meters than we did before." https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/deepend-catching-weird-mini-monsters-from-the-deep-sea/){kind=link}
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