Snorkeling in the St. Augustine Aquarium, I was fascinated by the three stingrays that circled the 80,000-gallon tank. The rays would often stop and attach themselves to the windows where young children …
Plankton eating Whale Sharks do not have the teeth that give some sharks that “Over Bite” reputation. These gentle giants grow to 40 feet long and have a sense of curiosity. They …
You will never have a greater opportunity to catch and release tarpon for fun, fellowship, science, cash, and prizes than the 83rd Suncoast Tarpon Roundup that kicks off in Tampa Bay on May 11. The region’s …
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 …
With coral reefs around the world in peril from pollution, ocean acidification, disease and other threats, watching these animals reproduce is an exciting, exhilarating, and uplifting experience. A mass …
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— OCTOBER 31, 2013—Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts, with properties in Florida and the Caribbean, has announced the launch of Expedition Outfitters as part of its growing adventure …
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 …
Alex Vazquez led team Fish Tales to an impressive victory at the Bahamas Billfish Championship’s first tournament of the 2012 season at Great Guana Cay, Abaco. Vazquez and teammate Joey Souto caught …
26 Feb 2018 
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![](mailto:?subject=The Family Easter Weekend is on at the Big Game Club&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/eco-easter12.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-549" title="Easter at the Bimini Big Game Club" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/eco-easter12.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="751" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/the-family-easter-weekend-is-on-at-the-big-game-club/){kind=link}
, grunts, parrotfish, angelfish, and rock beauties, plus the stingrays. Visitors can book guided snorkeling tours daily, with all gear included.
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For those who don't feel like getting wet, there are touch tanks holding horseshoe crabs, starfish, and other invertebrates, a live seahorse exhibit, educational talks, and tanks where you can observe a juvenile Goliath grouper and a weird-looking Atlantic guitarfish, and pay extra to feed nurse sharks and rays. I think a lot of the kids were startled at the loud sucking noise emitted by the sharks as they gulped the baits on the surface using the powerful pumps in their jaws.
After touring the aquarium, visitors can stroll across the parking lot and fly through the sky on seven ziplines and other treetop conveyances at the Castaway Canopy Adventure. Swinging through the full range of lines, sky bridges and towers takes up to about two hours-- all under the supervision of professional guides. Advanced bookings are recommended at <a href="http://www.OldCityZip.com">OldCityZip.com</a>.
For more information and reservations for the St. Augustine Aquarium, visit <a href="https://www.saaquarium.com/">www.saaquarium.com</a> or call 904-429-9777. To book a hotel room for your stay, check out Holiday Isle Oceanfront Resort on St. Augustine Beach, soon to re-open as a Guy Harvey Outpost. Call 1-800-513-5257.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/aquarium-gets-kids-interested-in-oceans/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject="Whale Sharks Are Our Friends" at Guy Harvery Outpost&body=Plankton eating Whale Sharks do not have the teeth that give some sharks that "Over Bite" reputation. These gentle giants grow to 40 feet long and have a sense of curiosity. They have been known to hang around and almost study divers and snorkelers.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whaleshark2-large.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2140 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whaleshark2-large.jpg?w=660" alt="Isla Mujeres Whale Shark Photo: Guy Harvey PhD." width="660" height="418" /></a>
On some levels Whale Sharks may be the most "User Friendly Sharks:" big, no teeth, warm waters, frequently at snorkel depth, and curious enough to interact with divers. There is still much we do not know about them but one thing we do know is that they can be seen by Guy Harvey Outpost divers at the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/beyond/isabela-island/property-overview.html">Iguana Crossing </a>Galapagos, <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas/bimini-sands-bimini.html">Bimini Sands</a>, Bahamas, but almost guaranteed at <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/beyond/isla-mujeres-mexico/overview.html">Hotel Playa Media Luna </a>at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. For more info on our <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/beyond/isla-mujeres-mexico/dive.html">Whale Shark Encounters at Isla Mujeres</a> (scroll to the bottom of the page).
To learn more about our Whale Shark Encounters call our Reservations line at 800-513-5257 or reservations@guyharveyoutpost.com https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/whale-sharks-are-our-friends-at-guy-harvery-outpost/){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.
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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=Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts Launches Expedition Outfitters&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/expoutfitters.png"><img id="i-1677" class="size-full wp-image" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/expoutfitters.png?w=491" alt="Image" /></a>
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— OCTOBER 31, 2013—<a title="GHO on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/guyharveyoutpost" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts</a>, with properties in Florida and the Caribbean, has announced the launch of Expedition Outfitters as part of its growing adventure travel lodging business. The announcement was made today by Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts President Mark Ellert and company co-founder Bill Shedd.
“Expedition Outfitters is being created to complement our collection of Outpost properties and serve our expanding adventure travel customer base,” explained Ellert. “The Guy Harvey Outpost brand is defined by great watersport experiences and service, and our Expedition Outfitters are the dive operators and fishing captains that make this possible.”
Expedition Outfitters will feature two membership categories: dive shops and guided or charter boat fishing. “It’s a logical brand extension for Guy Harvey Outpost” commented Shedd, owner of the big game fishing tackle company, AFTCO, and manufacturer of Guy Harvey sportswear and tee-shirts. “Our fishing and diving customers want the same level of quality service and ‘top of class’ experience they get at our resorts and lodges. At Guy Harvey Outpost, we’ve done the homework to make sure our Expedition Outfitters meet those expectations.”
Captain Ned Stone, a sportfishing veteran of the offshore fishing circuit, will oversee the new effort as the company’s Director of Program Development.
Shedd announced the inaugural members of Expedition Fishing Outfitters include acclaimed Florida captains Ray Rosher of Miami , <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/adventures/fishing/offshore/captain-billy-black.html">Billy Black</a> of Stuart and Randy Towe of Islamorada and. For legendary offshore action in Mexico, Anthony Mendillo and his Keen M Sportfishing team will be the company’s fishing outfitter in Isla Mujeres. Capt. Black will be based out of <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/west-end-grand-bahama-island/overview.html">Old Bahama Bay Resort & Yacht Harbour,</a> a Guy Harvey Outpost Expedition Lodge.
Earlier this summer, while fishing with Guy Harvey, Mendillo led Guy’s 22 yr old daughter, Jessica, to catch a 600 plus pound swordfish, the largest swordfish landed on a conventional rod and reel by a female angler in the last 30 years and a new record in Isla Mujeres. “We can guarantee our Expedition Fishing Outfitters know how to put you on the fish, but like Jessica, you’ll have to do the catching,” noted Stone in sharing the story of the Keen M catch. “
“These captains have the records and testimonials to truly be considered sportfishing ‘legends,’ notes Captain Stone. “We’re honored to have them join the Guy Harvey Outpost system. And if we don’t have an Outpost resort or lodge nearby, you have a pretty good idea where we’re looking.” The company’s two newest hotel additions include the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/florida/islamorada-fl/islamorada-fl-overview.html">Islander Resort </a>in Islamorada and the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/beyond/isla-mujeres-mexico/overview.html">Hotel Playa Media Luna</a> in Isla Mujeres, just off the Cancun coast.
Tipping his hat to the obvious, Ellert describes the benefit he sees in having a carefully selected system of top-of-class outfitters. “Expedition Outfitters is going to save our customers time planning their next adventure, wherever it may be. After all, when you want to know who to fish or dive with, ‘we know the Guy who knows the guy’, guaranteed.”
For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/">www.ghofish.com</a>
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https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outpost-resorts-launches-expedition-outfitters/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Mako: Your Ultimate Dive in Isla Mujeres&body=
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/makoIsla.mp4">https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/makoIsla.mp4</a>
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}
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