About 12 years ago, Cayman Islands businessman Clarence Flowers– an avid sport angler– chartered Miami Beach captain Bouncer Smith for a South Florida swordfishing excursion. Smith shared …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com Marine artist/conservationist/cinematographer Dr. Guy Harvey this week is scuba diving at one of the most exciting and ecologically-important …
The Guy Harvey Research Institute just finished conducting the annual census of the stingray population at Stingray City in Grand Cayman. The GHRI team, led by Guy Harvey and GHRI Director Dr. …
Dr. Guy Harvey Applauds Decision But Says More Needs to Be Done GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN—DECEMBER 16, 2011— A groundswell of public support generated by Guy Harvey’s latest film The Mystery of …
45-Minute Film Promotes Protection of the Endangered Nassau Grouper GEORGETOWN, GRAND CAYMAN— Marine artist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey and award-winning filmmaker George Schellenger have …
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![](mailto:?subject=Sword Fights in the Cayman Islands&body=About 12 years ago, Cayman Islands businessman Clarence Flowers-- an avid sport angler-- chartered Miami Beach captain Bouncer Smith for a South Florida swordfishing excursion. Smith shared his tactics and techniques with his customer and they caught a fish. Flowers told the captain about the nascent recreational swordfishery in his Caribbean home waters: a 600-pounder had actually beached itself in Grand Cayman Island's North Sound and recreational anglers were taking some hefty ones on hook-and-line. That fateful conversation led to the inaugural Cayman Swordfish Challenge in 2005.
The 11th Challenge just wrapped up last weekend with local angler Thom Guyton taking top honors for boating four swords--including the tournament's largest, a 108.2-pounder--and releasing one off Cayman Brac.
The contest also serves as an on-water laboratory for scientists seeking to learn as much as possible about this unsung, but robust recreational fishery.
"Better than ours-- especially the night fishing," Smith, a 50-year-veteran charter captain, said of Cayman Islands swordfishing. "The daytime I would say is on a par with here--maybe slightly better."
Fisheries scientist Travis Moore of Pompano Beach-based Gray FishTag Research was on the water for the two-day contest and implanted a 54-incher with a satellite tag before releasing it. The tag, anchored in the dorsal fin, will detach after a year and beam minute-to-minute data about the fish's movements to a satellite which downloads the data to Moore's computer. It is the ninth satellite tag to be implanted in Cayman Island swords by Moore and colleagues since 2011.
"What we're doing is to help develop this fishery for the Cayman Islands," Moore said. "The Cayman government may decide to use this data to regulate foreign fleets coming into their waters."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SwordTag2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4666" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SwordTag2.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960" /></a>
Right now, both Moore and Smith say, there 's really no directed commercial fishery for swords in the Cayman Islands; the effort is primarily recreational with a few fish kept to eat or sold to local restaurants. But as word of the bounty gets out, the powerful and tasty billfish potentially could face heavy exploitation and would require careful management. The islands' record is a 392-pounder caught in 2012.
Moore says preliminary satellite tracking data shows the Cayman Islands serve as a "rest stop" for the tasty pelagics that hang out here roughly from November through May, then head north as waters warm.
"They're feeding in a perpendicular pattern to the Cayman Trench before going north," he said.
Recreational anglers target them in ways similar to their South Florida counterparts: deep-dropping squid, small tunas, bonitos or belly strips in 1,600 to 1,800 feet of water in daytime and either drifting or slow-trolling baits with planers 100 to 300 feet deep at night. Smith says all three of the Cayman Islands-- Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman--are basically sea mounts surrounded by very deep waters where upwellings concentrate bait, and therefore swords could be found just about anywhere.
"You can fish so close to the islands that you can read the license plates on the cars," he said.
Moore relishes the opportunity to enjoy the sport and collect important information at the same time.
"The fishing there is really off the charts," he said. "Amazing." https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/sword-fights-in-the-cayman-islands/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Diving the Grouper Moon&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3275 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/grouper.jpg?w=300" alt="Grouper" width="300" height="222" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Marine artist/conservationist/cinematographer Dr. Guy Harvey this week is scuba diving at one of the most exciting and ecologically-important sites in the Caribbean-- a coral wall about 100 feet deep near Little Cayman Island recognized as one of the largest spawning aggregation sites for endangered Nassau grouper anywhere.
Harvey plans to gather more video footage for "The Mystery of the Grouper Moon"--a documentary he first produced with George Schellenger in 2011. The aim is to help build a groundswell among Caymanians to continue protection for Nassaus that use the site for reproduction each year around the full moons in January and February.
Harvey's efforts paid off when the Cayman government extended a harvest ban in the area through 2019. But he said that's not enough to ensure a sustainable Nassau population.
"Our goal is to get the population here in Cayman up to 10,000 and repopulate the other islands and bring this fishery back to its former glory," Harvey said.
Not so long ago, tens of thousands of Nassau grouper-- a beautiful, slow-growing, and unfortunately very tasty reef-dweller-- reproduced successfully at five sites around the Cayman Islands in winter. But fishermen quickly figured this out and so decimated the aggregation that the only spawning site left in the area is off Little Cayman.
This pattern of overfishing also occurred at some 50 other spawning sites in the Caribbean and Bahamas, rendering between one-third and one-half of them inactive.
Today, the harvest of Nassau grouper is banned year round in the U.S.; prohibited December through February in the Bahamas, but open everywhere in the Cayman Islands except off Little Cayman.
Harvey would like to see all Nassau harvest closed in the Cayman Islands from November through March, and he's not alone.
The Key Largo-based Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and the Cayman Department of the Environment have been researching the "Grouper Moon" for the past 13 years-- counting fish; implanting them with acoustic tags; collecting larvae and performing other research.
Harvey said it's fascinating observing the scientists working with the fish.
"The area is spectacular-- a wall on the western side of Little Cayman," he said. "They spawn at dusk in about 100 feet in the current. They turn black and white as they spawn-- one to two dozen males with one female. One of the wonders of nature. Very exciting,"
Harvey said efforts to protect the aggregation-- while not as comprehensive as he would like--have achieved some benefits. In 2010, he said, researchers counted about 2,500 spawners. Last winter, he said, about 5,000 were found reproducing at the site.
"I get first hand the feeling on how the spawning population has improved from previous years," he said. "It really is working."
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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/diving-the-grouper-moon-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=GHRI, Georgia Aquarium Partner for Stingray Census Study in Grand Cayman&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/stingray-census2c-gcm-0812-0631.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1378 " title="Stingray City Census" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/stingray-census2c-gcm-0812-0631.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="329" /></a>Alex Harvey, Louisa Gibson and Dr. Brad Wetherbee secure a large ray in a pool in the cockpit of Guy’s Scout boat while Georgia Aquarium's Tonya Clauss prepares to take blood from the ray’s tail.
The <a title="GHRI web site" href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a> just finished conducting the annual census of the stingray population at <a title="About Stingray City" href="http://www.caymanislands.ky/activities/attractions/stingraycity.aspx" target="_blank">Stingray City</a> in <a title="About Grand Cayman" href="http://www.caymanislands.ky/aboutcayman/grandcayman.aspx" target="_blank">Grand Cayman</a>. The GHRI team, led by <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> and GHRI Director <a title="About Dr. Mahmood Shivji" href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/overview/faculty-staff-profiles/mahmood_shivji.html" target="_blank">Dr. Mahmood Shivji</a>, <a title="About Dr. Brad Wetherbee" href="http://www.uri.edu/cels/bio/wetherbee/p/frames.html" target="_blank">Dr. Brad Wetherbee</a> of the <a title="U. of Rhode Island web site" href="http://ww2.uri.edu/" target="_blank">University of Rhode Island</a>, <a title="U. of Edinburgh web site" href="http://www.ed.ac.uk/home" target="_blank">Edinburgh University</a> student Louisa Gibson and Guy's adult children, Jessica and Alex Harvey. Assisting the GHRI this year were three special guests from the <a title="GA web site" href="http://www.georgiaaquarium.org" target="_blank">Georgia Aquarium</a> - veterinarians Tonya Clauss, Lisa Hoopes and Nicole Boucha, who were on hand to analyze blood samples to better assess the overall health of the rays. Thanks to all who participated - updates from the census will be available soon! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/ghri-georgia-aquarium-partner-for-stingray-census-study-in-grand-cayman/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey’s “The Mystery of the Grouper Moon” Documentary to Premier September 13th in Grand Cayman&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/savethespag.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-842" title="Save The Grouper Spawning Aggregation" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/savethespag.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="413" /></a>
45-Minute Film Promotes Protection of the Endangered Nassau Grouper
GEORGETOWN, GRAND CAYMAN— Marine artist and conservationist <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Guy Harvey</a> and award-winning filmmaker <a title="About George Schellenger" href="http://www.statusproductions.com/aboutus.html" target="_blank">George Schellenger</a> have a strong message in their new collaboration “The Mystery of the Grouper Moon”— convince <a title="Cayman Islands web site" href="http://www.caymanislands.ky/" target="_blank">Cayman</a> government officials to extend a ban on fishing at spawning aggregations for the endangered <a title="About Nassau Grouper" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassau_grouper" target="_blank">Nassau Grouper</a>.
Shot entirely in the Cayman Islands and supported by <a title="REEF web site" href="http://www.reef.org/" target="_blank">REEF</a> (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) and the <a title="Cayman Islands DOE web site" href="http://www.doe.ky/" target="_blank">Cayman Islands Department of Environment</a>, the 45-minute documentary is scheduled to premier on September 13th at the Harquail Theatre in Grand Cayman. Two showings are planned, with the first starting at 6 p.m. The general public is invited. Dr. Harvey, a resident of Grand Cayman, will be distributing “Save Nassau Grouper” posters to those in attendance as well as to students on subsequent school visits in October.
At stake in this effort by Dr. Harvey and other leading marine scientists is the protection of one of the last-known intact spawning areas for the Nassau Grouper in the world. An eight year ban on fishing at these spawning aggregations, mandated in 2003 by the CI Marine Conservation Board, is due to expire in December of this year.
“The Nassau groupers in the Cayman Islands used to congregate over the full moon in January and February at eight specific sites,” said Dr. Harvey. “Local fishermen have known about these sites for years, but recently, overfishing at these sites has led to the rapid decline in this species. Today, one active site remains in west end of Little Cayman.”
Dr. Harvey said that thanks to the ban at this site and other locations, colonies are beginning to grow again, thus helping the Nassau Grouper populations to recover.
“Part of our awareness effort is to enlist the support of residents, especially school age children, to send e-mails to the Hon. Mark Scotland, The Minister of Environment, to express their wishes to see the extension on the protection of the grouper holes,” added Dr. Harvey. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harveys-the-mystery-of-the-grouper-moon-documentary-to-premier-in-grand-cayman/){kind=link}
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