NOTE: The following article appears courtesy of Huffington Post Canada. A wave of bylaws banning the possession, trade, sale and distribution of shark fin products has swept across the province of British …
St. Pete Beach, Home of Guy Harvey Outpost’s TradeWinds Resort, Named #1 Beach in US
9 Mar 20128:44 PM
Travelers have spoken and St. Pete Beach, FL – home of Guy Harvey Outpost, a TradeWinds Resort – was voted the #1 beach in the U.S. and the #5 beach in the world!
According to the TripAdvisor survey, St. Pete Beach is known for “sugary-white sand, dolphins frolicking just off shore and eight major barrier islands make St. Pete Beach a postcard-perfect seaside destination. Situated on a peninsula off Florida’s west coast, it is an ideal place to experience the state’s wild beauty and the magical golden rays of the Sunshine State”.
St. Pete Beach was up against some pretty stiff competition, including several locations in Florida and Hawaii. But, in the end, the perfect combination of sand, sun & surf propelled St. Pete Beach to #1!
Here’s the full list of the “Traveller’s Choice 2012 Top 10 Beach Destinations in the U.S.” as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor, the largest travel web site in the world –
1. St. Pete Beach
2. Miami Beach
3. Myrtle Beach
4. Virginia Beach
5. Honolulu
6. Daytona Beach
7. Ft. Lauderdale
8. Lahaina
9. San Diego
10. Key West
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![](mailto:?subject=St. Pete Beach, Home of Guy Harvey Outpost’s TradeWinds Resort, Named #1 Beach in US&body=<a href="http://guyharveyoutpost.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/st_pete_beach.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1133" title="St. Pete Beach, FL" src="http://guyharveyoutpost.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/st_pete_beach.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="159" /></a>
Travelers have spoken and St. Pete Beach, FL - home of <a title="GHO at St. Pete Beach" href="http://guyharveyoutpostnews.com/2012/02/17/guy-harvey-outpost-to-open-st-pete-beach-resort/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost, a TradeWinds Resort</a> - was <a title="TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice 2012" href="http://www.tripadvisor.ca/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cDestinations-g191" target="_blank">voted the #1 beach in the U.S.</a> and the <a title="TripAdvisor Travellers' Coice 2012" href="http://www.tripadvisor.ca/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cDestinations-g1" target="_blank">#5 beach in the world</a>!
According to the <a title="TripAdvisor web site" href="http://www.tripadvisor.ca/" target="_blank">TripAdvisor</a> survey, St. Pete Beach is known for "sugary-white sand, dolphins frolicking just off shore and eight major barrier islands make St. Pete Beach a postcard-perfect seaside destination. Situated on a peninsula off Florida's west coast, it is an ideal place to experience the state's wild beauty and the magical golden rays of the Sunshine State".
St. Pete Beach was up against some pretty stiff competition, including several locations in Florida and Hawaii. But, in the end, the perfect combination of sand, sun & surf propelled St. Pete Beach to #1!
Here's the full list of the "Traveller's Choice 2012 Top 10 Beach Destinations in the U.S." as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor, the largest travel web site in the world -
1. St. Pete Beach
2. Miami Beach
3. Myrtle Beach
4. Virginia Beach
5. Honolulu
6. Daytona Beach
7. Ft. Lauderdale
8. Lahaina
9. San Diego
10. Key West
<a href="http://www.tradewindsresort.com/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1142" title="Guy Harvey Outpost, a TradeWinds Beach Resort" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ghotampa-logo12.jpg" alt="" width="356" height="334" /></a>
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/st-pete-beach-home-of-guy-harvey-outposts-tradewinds-resort-named-1-beach-in-us/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Today is World Oceans Day!&body=Today is <a title="World Oceans Day web site" href="http://worldoceansday.org/" target="_blank">World Oceans Day</a>, described by organizers as an event where "people around the planet celebrate and honor the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents". Visit the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a> web site and learn how the GHOF and like-minded organizations are working each and every day to protect the world's oceans and marine life.
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/694-2.jpg"><img title=""Nosin' Around" - Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/694-2.jpg" alt="" width="420" height="265" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/today-is-world-oceans-day/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Wounded Vets, SCUBAnauts Help Mote Marine Replant Coral in FL Keys&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2838 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n.jpg?w=300" alt="11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n" width="300" height="249" /></a>Chris Corbin dropped about 20 feet to the ocean floor at Looe Key Reef off the Lower Florida Keys July 20 to perform an important task: planting small staghorn coral bundles as a volunteer for Mote Marine Laboratory's reef restoration project.
This was the 37-year-old retired U.S. Army Green Beret's fourth year as a volunteer citizen scientist working underwater alongside fellow combat vets and middle- and high-school students from SCUBAnauts International on a Mote project. But fastening the coral fragments with zip ties to nails driven into the bottom was proving challenging in the strong current-- especially since Corbin wears two heavy prostheses to replace both legs blown off at mid-calf.
"I just found it easier to drop my feet on a sandy spot and control my buoyancy with my breathing," Corbin said.
He planted four plots with five fragments each and still had air left in his tank.
"Every time it's awesome," he said. "It's kind of cool to see your work--'oh, that was last year and that was 2012'. It's always fun. If nothing else, I'm just playing in the ocean."
Corbin and about 50 other scuba divers and snorkelers from SCUBAnauts and the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge planted 250 corals along Looe Key that day-- adding to the 7,500 already placed by Mote scientists and volunteers on 50 sites along the Keys. The aim is to restore decades of manmade damage that has wiped out most of the branching corals in the Caribbean-- a huge loss to the marine ecosystem and the humans who depend on it.
"Humans have so screwed up the reefs that they will never recover on their own," Dr. Michael Crosby, Mote President and CEO, told the volunteers. "This is science-based restoration in partnership with all of you."
Scientists say the rewarding aspect of working with staghorn coral is that it grows fast and is the easiest to bring back. Fragments cultivated in Mote's coral nursery have grown large enough to spawn within two years of being replanted on the reef. Their average survival rate is 75 percent.
"It proves we're on the right track," said Erich Bartels, who oversees Mote's coral nursery project.
Tampa high school student Riley Gillis, 16, became a certified scuba diver last year just so she could help with the restoration work.
"The coral dive is actually my favorite dive I've ever done," Riley said. "It's awesome to be part of a team. I love looking around, the science, the working part of it. You're contributing to something."
For the wounded vets like Corbin, the work isn't just fun, but an opportunity to bond with fellow vets.
"No one understands a service member that's been injured like another service member that's been injured," Corbin said. "We're all trying to get back to a semblance of normalcy after injury."
He invited fellow retired Green Beret Bobby Dove to join the mission. Dove, 28, who lost most of his right leg and right arm to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, didn't hesitate.
"Hell, yeah," he responded. "I have not gotten to plant coral. I'm very excited about it."
Following their stint as coral farmers, the vets and kids were treated to a barbecue at Mote's Summerland Key lab.
The mission was supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation; the Islander Resort: A Guy Harvey Outpost; "Protect Our Reefs" license plate; Harbor Graphics and Custom Apparel; Looe Key Dive Center; Strike Zone Charters; Underseas Inc., Rock Bottom Divers; Derby Lane; and Oceanic. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wounded-vets-scubanauts-help-mote-marine-replant-coral-in-fl-keys/){kind=link}
. The state agency that manages fish and wildlife resources is considering opening a limited recreational harvest of Goliath grouper in state waters following a 27-year total closure. All federal waters (beyond nine miles in the Gulf and three miles in the Atlantic) would remain closed.
Goliath grouper have rebounded considerably from the late 1980s when the stock nearly collapsed from overfishing. Anglers and guides-- particularly on Florida's southwest coast-- have been complaining for years that the huge reef fish gobble nearly every fish they hook on some reefs and wrecks which, to them, means Goliaths have recovered enough to allow some harvest. Similar complaints have been registered by east coast anglers, but divers and dive operators in the region are adamant that the fish still need protection because they are more valuable as a tourist attraction than as food.
The FWC is seeking comment from the public on two options: leaving the current closure intact or issuing up to 100 recreational tags per year for four years through a random drawing that would allow an angler to take one fish per year in a 47-67-inch slot limit for a fee of up to $300. Anglers would not be allowed to harvest from spawning aggregations of Goliaths, which typically occur from July through mid-October, nor would any commercial take be allowed. The agency board is expected to make a decision at its December meeting in Gainesville.
But some scientists-- chiefly Dr. Chris Koenig, a retired Florida State University research scientist who's been studying Goliaths since the 1990s--have a big problem with option two.
Koenig and others argue that no one really knows the status of the stocks because no scientific assessment was performed before the population crashed in the 1980s. The latest stock assessment, conducted by the FWC last year, flunked peer review for that reason.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACE2683.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4923" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACE2683.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1329" /></a>
Koenig recommends that, if a limited recreational harvest is to be allowed, it should be for fish in the two-to-four-foot size range-- not the four-to-5 1/2-foot slot the FWC proposes. That's because the smaller-slot fish are caught mainly in inshore estuaries-- such as Everglades National Park--where anglers and guides report their catches and releases in creel surveys.
"You can get a reliable biological model that is highly conservative," Koenig said.
The larger fish that the state is recommending for harvest, he said, are so high in mercury-- a toxic heavy metal-- that they could potentially sicken those who eat them. And research by Koenig's FSU colleague Chris Malinowski indicates mercury build-up is actually killing the fish themselves.
"It's ridiculous what the state's doing," Koenig said. "You can't even eat them."
Koenig says the fish ought to be managed as tourist magnets.
"You can't see a fish like that anywhere else in the world, and you can dive on 50 to `100 of them off Palm Beach County," he said. "You can non-destructively exploit them."
******
There are many opportunities to provide input on managing Goliath groupers in Florida. The FWC will hold workshops around the state throughout the month of October. For more information, visit <a href="https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/rulemaking/workshops/">myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/rulemaking/workshops/</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/taking-goliath-grouper/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=New GUY HARVEY® Florida Lottery Scratch-Off Game Debuts Today&body=<a href="http://www.flalottery.com/promote.do"><img title="Guy Harvey Scratch-Off Game " src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/flalotterymobilelandingpage.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="508" /></a>
Proceeds benefit education and marine conservation in the State of Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—APRIL 3, 2012— For fans of marine wildlife artist and conservationist <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey</a> there’s a new collector’s series of lottery tickets that will be available starting today—priced at just $2.
Dr. Harvey and the <a title="Florida Lottery web site" href="http://www.flalottery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Florida Lottery</a> today are officially launching the <a title="Guy Harvey Scratch-Off Game" href="http://www.flalottery.com/promote.do" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GUY HARVEY® Scratch-Off game</a>, featuring a series of <a title="Guy Harvey Scratch-Off Tickets" href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150586035320966.370981.120398390965&type=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">six colorful wildlife illustrations</a> designed by the world renowned marine artist.
During a March 23rd <a title="Video highlights from press conference" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DrGuyHarvey" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press conference</a>, Dr. Harvey announced that his licensing proceeds from the sale of the tickets will benefit the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>, a marine conservation organization that funds educational programs aimed at informing children and young adults about their role in conserving Florida’s marine ecosystem.
Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell anticipates sales of the GUY HARVEY® Scratch-Off Game to generate about $3.5 million for Florida’s education system.
“This partnership with the Florida Lottery is unique and I am happy to launch a product that will help Florida’s schools as well as the state’s precious marine resources,” said Dr. Guy Harvey. “I am especially looking forward to fishing with the winner of the <a title="Cayman Islands web site" href="http://www.caymanislands.ky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Cayman</a> trip. We will have a great time!”
Dr. Harvey was referring to a <a title="About the Second Chance Promotion" href="https://secondchance.flalottery.com/secondchance/howtoplay_2012-GuyHarvey.do" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Second Chance Promotion</a> that offers players the chance to win the fishing trip of a lifetime.
The $2 GUY HARVEY® Scratch-Off game offers cash prizes of up to $30,000 and overall odds to win of one-in-4.37. Additionally, non-winning GUY HARVEY® tickets may be entered in the Guy Harvey® Sportsman’s Paradise Second Chance Promotion on the Lottery’s website.
Four drawings will be held between April 25 and June 27 with 12 winners selected in each drawing.
Grand prize winners will receive a Sportsman’s Paradise fishing trip for two to one of several fantastic fishing destinations including St. Petersburg Beach, Hawks Cay, Rum Cay in the Bahamas, or Grand Cayman Island, where one lucky winner and a guest will get the opportunity of a lifetime – to go fishing with Guy Harvey himself!
Second prize winners in the drawing will receive an original Guy Harvey® framed watercolor painting and the third prize winners will receive a $200 gift certificate to <a title="GHS web site" href="http://www.guyharveysportswear.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GuyHarveySportswear.com.</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/new-guy-harvey-florida-lottery-scratch-off-game-debuts-today/){kind=link}
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