South Bimini, Bahamas – Bimini Sands Resort & Marina on South Bimini in the Bahamas hosted The Woody Foundation’s Lionfish Bash for the fourth year in a row on August 15-17, 2014. The popular family …
Official Letter of Congratulations to Dive Bimini’s "Name That Boat" Contest Winner
1 Nov 201010:37 PM
Letter of congratulations to Karen Bond, winner of the Dive Bimini “Name That Boat” contest, from Guy Harvey and Neal Watson:
Karen’s submission, Bimini Blue, won out over several hundred entries. Congrats, Karen and enjoy your trip to the Bimini Big Game Club!
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![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Sands’ Annual Woody Foundation Lionfish Bash Removes 276 Invasive Lionfish&body=South Bimini, Bahamas – <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-bimini.html">Bimini Sands Resort & Marina </a>on South Bimini in the Bahamas hosted <a href="http://www.woodyfoundation.org/event/4th-annual-lionfish-bash/">The Woody Foundation’s </a>Lionfish Bash for the fourth year in a row on August 15-17, 2014. The popular family spearfishing event led to the removal of 276 lionfish – a non-native, invasive species that is threatening native fish stocks in the Bahamas and Florida – from the waters around Bimini.
<img src="http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/uploads/15/biggestlionfishRickRodriguez_lores.jpg" alt="biggestlionfishRickRodriguez_lores.jpg" width="400" height="543" border="1" />Rick Rodriguez, Winner of the Largest Lionfish Trophy, 36.5 oz.
The Lionfish Bash is an annual event created to raise awareness about lionfish as well as to benefit The Woody Foundation, a Miami-based non-profit organization that raises funds to aid in the recovery of persons with spinal injuries. Foundation Board Member James “Woody” Beckham, whose severe spinal injury during a college rugby game in 2011 launched The Woody Foundation, attended the Lionfish Bash in person as he has done every year, inspiring all the participants.
The results of the 4th Annual Lionfish Bash:
Largest Lionfish: Rick Rodriguez, shown above, (36.5 oz.)
Smallest Lionfish: Cody Gunthner (0.061 oz.)
Top Junior Angler: Trace Colson (18.5 oz.)
Most Lionfish Caught, 1st Place: Team Spears & Beers (80)
Most Lionfish Caught, 2nd Place: Team Extra Expense (70).
The fun weekend event included a Captain’s Meeting at the Square Grouper tiki bar, a full day of spearfishing in the spectacular waters around Bimini, and an Awards Banquet at the resort’s waterfront Bimini Twist Restaurant. Most Lionfish Bash participants brought their own boats to the event, but <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-dive.html">Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center’s </a>40-foot dive boat, the Dive God, took out a group who did not have their own vessels.
“The Lionfish Bash is one of the most fun and rewarding events we host each year,” said Bimini Sands President and CEO Frank Cooney. “We enjoy seeing Woody Beckham, his family and fellow board members from The Woody Foundation, and watching the fun as the Lionfish Bash participants helped to rid our beautiful coral reefs of these invasive fish.”
“Thanks again to the Cooney Family for hosting The Lionfish Bash,” said Woody Beckham. “Everyone thoroughly enjoys this unique adventure to Bimini. I can’t wait ’til next year’s event!” --- Louisa Beckett, Bahamas Weekly, Aug 26, 2014 https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bimini-sands-annual-woody-foundation-lionfish-bash-removes-276-invasive-lionfish/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Mako: Your Ultimate Dive in Isla Mujeres&body=
You're standing in an underwater cage only about three feet below the ocean's surface, breathing from a hookah when, suddenly, a streamlined, 600-pound torpedo armed with lots of teeth comes shooting by. Then, without warning, it does a 180 and swims straight toward you. What do you do?
If you are Dr. Guy Harvey--marine scientist, artist and conservationist--or cinematographer George Schellenger, or one of the many guests who've chartered the Keen M Blue Water fleet in Isla Mujeres, Mexico over the past decade, you thank your lucky stars for this opportunity to observe the shortfin mako shark up close.
"It was cool," Harvey said after a trip last year. "Most of them are really interactive. You have a fantastic opportunity to film mako sharks."
Then, after your dive, if you're not ready to say goodbye to the fastest sharks in the ocean, Keen M owner/operator Captain Anthony Mendillo will take you on a catch-and-release fishing excursion. Trolling with lures and natural baits will usually result in a hook-up, and if you keep alert, you can snap a photo or video clip of a mako breaching the surface.
"A lot of adrenaline," Mendillo noted.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/makocage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4523" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/makocage.jpg" alt="makocage" width="960" height="539" /></a>
The mild Caribbean waters off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are the prime destination for mako catching and diving between mid-March and early May. Harvey plans to be back there for about two weeks in April when he and Mendillo and scientists from the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University will try to implant some makos with satellite tags in their dorsal fins. These SPOT tags transmit the shark's location to a satellite whenever the fin pops above the surface. That movement data is then downloaded to computers at the institute near Fort Lauderdale where researchers post it online at the <a href="http://cnso.nova.edu/sharktracking/">GHRI shark tracking web site</a>. Mendillo built a special mobile platform on the stern of his boat so the sharks can be tagged in the water-- minimizing stress on the animals.
Harvey and colleagues Mahmood Shivji, Jeremy Vaudo, Michael Byrne, and Brad Wetherbee recently published a first-of-its-kind research study on 26 shortfin makos that they tagged and tracked for up to two years in the Western North Atlantic and the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The sharks-- tagged and released off Isla Mujeres and Ocean City, Md. -- travelled through the waters of 17 nations where at least seven were harvested by commercial fishers. The scientists warned that makos-- prized commercially for their meat and fins and recreationally for their fish-ability--may be at higher risk of being overfished than previous conventional tagging studies suggest.
Harvey and his colleagues recommended a "cautionary interpretation of past stock assessments" of the shortfin mako and the need for close cooperation among Western North Atlantic nations to devise "regionally and seasonally-specific management strategies"-- in other words, not taking a one-size-fits-all approach to conserving the species.
To book your adventure interacting with makos go to <a href="http://www.GHOExpeditions.com">www.GHOExpeditions.com</a> or call the Outpost Travel Desk at 800-513-5257. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/mako-your-ultimate-dive-in-isla-mujeres/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Smithsonian Comes to Lake Okeechobee&body=The city of Okeechobee will celebrate its centennial on Jan. 21 but it got things started early with the Dec. 17 opening of an exhibit driving home the vital importance of its namesake lake.
The Smithsonian Museum Waterways Exhibit --featuring poster panels, interactive touch screens, a freshwater aquarium, and artwork by Dr. Guy Harvey--explores the inseverable connection between humankind and access to clean, fresh water. And as the liquid heart of South Florida, there's no place better to explore that connection than Lake Okeechobee.
The Big O supplies water for millions of people and acres of agricultural lands, and provides habitat for many species of game and food fish and both resident and migratory birds. It connects the Kissimmee River ecosystem with the vast marshes and woodlands of Everglades National Park, including the estuary of Florida Bay. That's likely why the city named for the "Big Water" is one of only 36 communities throughout the U.S.--including six in Florida-- to be selected to host the Smithsonian exhibit.
Open daily to the public through Jan. 28 at the historic Okeechobee courthouse, it was coordinated through the Florida Humanities Council, Okeechobee Public Library, Okeechobee Main Street (a downtown booster group), and the Okeechobee Tourist Development Council. The Smithsonian designed and built the display, and Dr. Harvey's works--including paintings of blue marlin, snook, redfish, largemouth bass, manatees and other aquatic creatures--decorate the walls surrounding it.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5737.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4495" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5737.jpg" alt="img_5737" width="3264" height="2448" /></a>
One display panel reads: "No new water is being created--we have to protect the water we have. Use it wisely. While some water challenges are seemingly insurmountable, people are great problem solvers."
And problem solvers Floridians will have to be to ensure the right amount of fresh water flows into the Big O and out of it to the places where it's needed most at the right quality and the right times of year-- the essence of habitat restoration.
City Councilman Gary Ritter told the gathering at the exhibit's opening that access to clean drinking water is going to become more important in the decades ahead as Florida's resident and visiting population swells by millions.
"We're gonna have to be smarter in the way we use and manage the water," Ritter said. "We need to do our part to preserve what we have."
******
A very special thank-you to Dr. Paul Gray of Florida Audubon for guiding GHO president Mark Ellert, GHO managing director-lodging operations Chris Pollock, City Councilman Gary Ritter and me on an exciting and informative airboat tour of the Big O just before the Smithsonian exhibit opening. It's the best way to explore and understand one of south-central Florida's greatest natural resources. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/smithsonian-comes-to-lake-okeechobee/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Shark Week Begins at Guy Harvey Outpost’s Bimini Sands&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hamerhead-grant-johnson.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2120" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hamerhead-grant-johnson.jpg?w=660" alt="Hamerhead, Grant Johnson" width="660" height="453" /></a>
Shark Week reminds us that there are all sorts of great Big Animal Encounters and Guy Harvey Outpost has lots of them. Our Hammerhead Shark Safaris offered through <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-dive.html">Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center</a> starts off our Shark Week. Scuba Diving Magazine’s Readers Choice Award ranked the Bahamas #1 in Big Animals in the Caribbean & Atlantic in 2013 for a reason.
You do not have to go far to get your Shark on either; just 50 miles east of Miami on the island of South Bimini. The scuba diving with Great Hammerheads takes place in 25-feet of water over a white sand bottom just minutes from our docks at the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-bimini.html">Bimini Sands, a Guy Harvey Outpost Expedition Property!</a> Led by Neal Watson's Undersea Adventures staff, the Hammerhead Shark dives run January through March and sell out early. This dive provides an unparalleled photo and video opportunity for serious divers.
Other Big Animal Adventures we offer at the Bimini Sands include our Wild Dolphin Safaris, Stingray Dives and Reef Shark Encounters with Caribbean Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks. Snorkeling gear is all you need to enjoy the Dolphins, Stingrays and Reef Sharks. Call Guy Harvey Outpost Reservations for details: 800.513.5257!
Catch more shark photos with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost?fref=nf">Guy Harvey Outpost on Facebook</a>.
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/sharkweek">#SharkWeek</a> is underway on Discovery Channel!
AUGUST 12th UPDATE: The Discovery Channel included this dive in their <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/monsterhammerhead">#MonsterHammerhead</a> episode on <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/sharkweek">#SharkWeek</a>! Congratulations Neal Watson & team!
USA Today featured the Bimini Great Hammerhead Dive as one of their top 5 Shark Dives: <a title="Swiming with Sharks: A Guide to the Best Dives" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2014/08/08/swim-with-sharks/13724573/">Swimming with Sharks: A Guide to the Best Dives</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/shark-week-begins-at-guy-harvey-outposts-bimini-sands/){kind=link}
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