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 …
The origins of the mystery eyeball that washed up on a South Florida beach last week was the subject of much debate among experts and laymen alike. Guesses about what animal the very large eyeball belonged …
ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO—July 22, 2012—Jessica Harvey, the 22-year-old daughter of marine icon Guy Harvey, showed that saltwater fishing skills is a family trait when she fought and landed a massive 600-plus …
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 …
Kudos to Capt. Skip Smith and the Swordfish Club for the record breaking attendance at the Swordfish Extravaganza II event, which was held last week at the IGFA headquarters in Dania Beach, FL. Major …
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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}
 believe the specimen came from a swordfish. Genetic testing will be done to confirm the identification.
“Experts on site and remotely have viewed and analyzed the eye, and based on its color, size and structure, along with the presence of bone around it, we believe the eye came from a swordfish,” said Joan Herrera, curator of collections at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. “Based on straight-line cuts visible around the eye, we believe it was removed by a fisherman and discarded.”
The approximately softball-size eye was recovered by a citizen in Pompano Beach on Wednesday. FWC staff received the eye later that day. Swordfish are commonly fished in the Florida Straits offshore of south Florida at this time of year.
A highly migratory fish, swordfish can be found from the surface to as deep as 2,000 feet. Swordfish in the Atlantic can reach a maximum size of over 1,100 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Swordfish feed on a wide variety of fish and invertebrates.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/mysteryeye11.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1478" title="Mystery Eyeball" alt="" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/mysteryeye11.jpg" height="366" width="550" /></a>The mystery eyeball that washed up on a South Florida beach...
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sword12.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1479" title="Swordfish" alt="" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sword12.jpg" height="440" width="550" /></a>...and a close-up of a swordfish eye. Mystery solved?
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fwc-ids-mystery-eyeball-and-the-winner-is/){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=Swordfish Extravaganza II a Big Hit in South Florida&body=Kudos to <a title="Smith-Merritt Insurnace web site" href="http://www.smith-merritt.com/" target="_blank">Capt. Skip Smith</a> and the <a title="Swordfish Club web site" href="http://www.swordfishclub.org/" target="_blank">Swordfish Club</a> for the record breaking attendance at the <a title="Swordfish Extravaganza II info page" href="http://billfish.org/1356-swordfish-extravaganza-ii#continue_post" target="_blank">Swordfish Extravaganza II</a> event, which was held last week at the <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org" target="_blank">IGFA</a> headquarters in <a title="Dania Beach, FL web site" href="http://www.ci.dania-beach.fl.us/" target="_blank">Dania Beach, FL</a>. Major names in the big game tackle business showcased their latest products for hooking up these behemoths, and key organizations produced informative seminars on the fishery. <a title="NOAA web site" href="http://www.noaa.gov" target="_blank">NOAA</a> and HMS gave presentations on government efforts to rebuild "trust" with recreational fishermen, and highlighted the importance of reporting your sword catch so the USA can keep a valid tally in regards to our international quota.
<a href="http://www.swordfishclub.org/"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-162" title="Swordfish Extravaganza II" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sfii1.jpg?w=224" alt="" width="224" height="300" /></a>
Congrats again to Capt. Skip and the Swordfish Club crew for a great event! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/swordfish-extravaganza-ii-a-big-hit-in-south-florida/){kind=link}
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