The following editorial about Everglades activist Wayne Nelson was posted to the blog “Eye on Miami” after Nelson’s death last week. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial …
Whale Shark Sucks Fish Out of Hole in Fishing Net!
17 Jul 20126:00 PM
Incredible video from Conservation International showing a whale shark sucking baitfish from fishermen’s nets in Cendrawasih Bay, Indonesia:
CI’s summary of the video: ” On a recent expedition to Indonesia’s Cendrawasih Bay, Conservation International’s Mark Erdmann learned how whale sharks often congregate around bagan (lift net) fishing platforms to eat the small silverside baitfish that the fishers are targeting. The sharks have also learned how to “suck” the fish out of holes in the nets!
This can be dangerous — but the local fishers like the sharks, considering them good luck, and are working to modify the net designs to prevent sharks from entering.”
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![](mailto:?subject=Wayne Nelson: An Everglades Warrior Lays Down His Shield&body=The following editorial about <a title="Everglades National Park web site" href="http://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm" target="_blank">Everglades</a> activist Wayne Nelson was posted to the blog "<a title="Eye on Miami blog" href="http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Eye on Miami</a>" after Nelson's <a title="Wayne Nelson's Obituary" href="http://www.tributes.com/show/Wayne-L.-Nelson-93742562" target="_blank">death</a> last week. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions may be made to the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>, 10408 West SR 84, Suite 104, Davie, FL 33324.
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wayne.jpg"><img title="Wayne Nelson Photo courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel)" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wayne.jpg" alt="" width="428" height="286" /></a>
By gimleteye:
When Wayne Nelson, 88, died this week, the liquid heart of Florida - <a title="About Lake Okeechobee" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee" target="_blank">Lake Okeechobeee</a> - lost a fierce and knowledgeable advocate. Wayne was of a generation of modern-day Everglades activists; including, recently, the late Johnie Jones and his wife, Mariana, who were young in the 1940's and 1950's and experienced the Everglades firing on all cylinders.
Wayne was Korea War veteran and a retired air conditioning contractor whose advocacy for Lake Okeechobee led <a title="Nelson's Supreme Court Case" href="http://www.eswr.com/docs/courts/ussc/01-196/FOEpetition.pdf" target="_blank">all the way to the US Supreme Court</a>. He began fishing in West Palm Beach and Lake Okeechobee in the 1960's. He organized one of the first bass fishing clubs in Florida and was the organizer of the small group, Fishermen Against the Destruction of the Environment (FADE) that was a co-plaintiff in federal Clean Water Act litigation challenging the South Florida Water Management District and Big Sugar. Wayne was at the first meeting of the Everglades Coalition at Port of the Islands in 1984 and was once a member of the board of <a title="Friends of the Everglades web site" href="http://everglades.org" target="_blank">Friends of the Everglades</a> <> (of which I am now president).
Friends of the Everglades, Nelson's FADE, and other conservation groups brought citizen suits under the Clean Water Act against the US Environmental Protection Agency to require the South Florida Water Management District to obtain permits in order to discharge polluted canal water into Lake Okeechobee. (FADE and Friends of the Everglades have been involved in several federal CWA lawsuits, with important implications for the nation's water policies, not just the Everglades.)
This practice is known as "back-pumping" and its purpose is to make sure that the 700,000 acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area -- dominated by Big Sugar-- are never too wet in rainy season. Back-pumping controls water levels on sugar land and through the extensive canal system, forcing water uphill as it were, against gravity, into Lake Okeechobee.
At the same time, the water management practices that deliver immense benefits and profits to sugar barons like the billionaire Fanjuls also deprive the natural system of the rainfall cycle that nourished the Everglades and Florida Bay with clean, fresh water at the right time of year.
He launched his boat in Belle Glade and would fish through the weekend. "To get to the Lake," Nelson testified in a Friends' affidavit filed with federal court in 2011, "you have to cross the rim canal and enter the Lake through one of the cuts. I would typically see the pumping while I was going out to fish or coming back in from fishing and was traveling in the rim canal to the boat ramp. You can see the turbulence and tinged color of pumped water all the way across the rim canal and into the Lake."
Wayne Nelson was a fierce supporter of grass roots environmentalism. His friend, Jim Harvey, says, "If people were classified like naval ships, Wayne Nelson would be the Warrior Class. He never faltered to say it like he saw it. He believed in watching the ass not the lips to ascertain where things were going. You didn't go fishing with Wayne. He went, listening to him. He loved Lake Okeechobee and held no quarter or gave no quarter when it came to saving the Lake."
Wayne didn't seek out the spotlight. He could be cantankerous and prickly. But anyone who loved the Everglades, fought battles against industry pressure, endured endless delays by government, obfuscation, and false declarations of progress while the liquid heart of Florida turned into a sewer would be spewing comets and fury at the misdirection.
"Water transfers of polluted, nutrient-rich water to Lake Okeechobee results in increased nutrient pollution in the Everglades system,"
Nelson said in his affidavit. "Nutrient pollution is one of the biggest threats to the Everglades today. Nitrogen and phosphorous from the canal waters feeds algae growth that chokes out sea grasses and other native plants. Algae also depletes oxygen, resulting in "dead zones" below the the surface where few native Everglades species survive. Invasive flora and fauna are increasingly taking over the niches created by the degredation of the water quality in the Everglades."
It has been nearly forty years since the historic agreement between the federal government and state of Florida to end the pollution of the Everglades, and its results keep a permanent incumbency in place; from local county commissions, to the state legislature -- that still refuses to hold Big Sugar accountable for the costs of its pollution and won't even impose the most rudimentary system to honestly account for polluting farming practices -- to Congress and the White House.
"We don`t need any more studies of Lake Okeechobee or the Everglades,"
Nelson told the Sun Sentinel in 1988. "We know what the problems are and we know what the solutions are. We need action. The farmers are hiding behind (government agencies they control)." ("Lake Okeechobee Scientific Group Back In Business", Orlando Sentinel, July 14, 1988)
Wayne knew that the environmental warriors were badly outmatched by the Great Destroyers, and he understood the clock was ticking. He didn't stand for niceties; he wanted environmentalists to do more and he had no tolerance for waving banners. He strongly believed that grass roots organizations were the key. Jim Harvey says, "He was pure passion and "old school" on freedom of speech. He hated equivocation and figured political correctness was being accurate. Period. He was in the truest sense, an egalitarian warrior with little regard for large national environmental groups that danced around to keep the Everglades ball in play."
Wayne Nelson just wanted to go fishing, and it made him angry that pollution deprived him, Florida and the nation of that opportunity.
Nelson told the Sun Sentinel in 1990: "Reagan missed the boat when he called Russia the Evil Empire". Thrusting a finger toward the sugar cane farms ringing Lake Okeechobee, he said, "I'll tell you where the goddamn Evil Empire is... it's out there!" (A Sweet Deal Has Become The Source Of A Bitter Poison, The Sugar Dynasty, Sept. 16, 1990) And it still is. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wayne-nelson-an-everglades-warrior-lays-down-his-shield/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Florida Bans Killing of Tiger and Hammerhead Sharks&body=<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/shark.jpg"><img title="Tiger shark" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/shark.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="296" /></a>
Killing Some Sharks in Florida Is Now A Crime
WorldFishingNetwork.com - Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, it will be illegal for anglers to harvest tiger <a href="http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/fishing-101/species/shark-746.aspx">sharks</a> and three species of hammerheads in Florida state waters.
The motion was brought forth by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Nov. 16 in an effort to further protect these top predators that rely on Florida waters to survive.
"Sometimes the appropriate measures of conservation are the problems we avoid, not the problems we have to fix," said Commissioner Brian Yablonski.
The new measures will also prohibit possession, sale, and exchange of tiger sharks and great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead sharks. These sharks can still be caught, but only if released alive.
FWC's decision comes after more than a year of deliberation. Concerned citizens, shark researchers, and shark anglers expressed their desires to FWCto see increased protections for sharks.
Florida waters offer essential habitat for young sharks, which is important for species such as the slow-to-reproduce tiger shark, which takes about 15 years to reach maturity.
Sharks have been strictly regulated in Florida since 1992, with a one-shark-per-person, two-sharks-per-vessel daily bag limit for all recreational and commercial harvesters and a ban on shark finning. Roughly two-dozen overfished, vulnerable or rare shark species are catch-and-release only in Florida waters.
In addition to the new measures, FWC is also working on an educational campaign highlighting fishing and handling techniques that increase the survival rate of sharks that are caught and released while ensuring the safety of the anglers targeting them.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/florida-bans-killing-of-tiger-and-hammerhead-sharks/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bahamas Wahoo Challenge – Day 1&body=Day 1 of the <a title="BWC web site" href="http://bahamaswahoochallenge.com/" target="_blank">Bahamas Wahoo Challenge</a> has come to a close (though the <a title="Big Game Bar & Grill photo album" href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=10405&id=127094040665962" target="_blank">Big Game Bar & Grill</a> will likely be open late into the night!). Capt. Ned Stone sent this report from the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Big Game Club</a>:
"Most of the anglers began the morning in pants and long sleeves, but were in t-shirts and shorts by mid-day as Friday eventually turned into a typical Bimini afternoon - beautiful and sunny with a brisk breeze.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hit20that_2606.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-271" title="Day 1's big catch!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hit20that_2606.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
The fleet got off a bit before 0700 - though a few stragglers (who shall remain unnamed) left a bit later, no doubt a result of having too much fun at the party last night! Most of the group ran south and enjoyed the following sea. The fishing was great - <a title="Photos from the Bahamas Wahoo Challenge" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=26901&id=127094040665962" target="_blank">check out some photos here</a>. Airborne is in the lead with 106.9 pounds, Shine On is in 2nd with 59.5 and Hit That is in 3rd with 42.2."
More reports and photos tomorrow, so be sure to check in with us here and on our <a title="BBGC on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> and <a title="Guy Harvey Outpost on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/GHOutpost" target="_blank">Twitter feed</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bahamas-wahoo-challenge-day-1/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Lionfish Web Portal Opens for Business&body=Lionfish Web Portal Your One Stop Information Source
The <a href="http://lionfish.gcfi.org/index.php">Invasive Lionfish Web Portal</a> has been created by a team of scientists, resource managers, NGO staff, professors and Ph. D. students to create a single source to answer questions with credible information. The Portal features photos, videos, fact sheets, multimedia, class room resources and social media links. The information and sources have been vetted by the team.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/lionfish_header.png" target="_blank" rel="http://lionfish.gcfi.org/"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2465 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/lionfish_header.png" alt="lionfish_header" width="1084" height="339" /></a>
Do you need to learn Lionfish first aide? Click the bright red What to do if stung button at the top of the page.
Are you interested in researching a particular aspect of the Lionfish invasion? There is a searchable directory of research papers.
Do you have a some cool Lionfish photos/video to share? Enter the Image or Video Contests.
Do you have a great Lionfish recipe you want to share? Enter the recipe Contest.
The Invasive Lionfish Web Portal partners include:
<a href="http://www.reef.org/lionfish">Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)</a>
<a href="http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/pollution/invasive/">NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science</a>
<a href="http://nas.er.usgs.gov">USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species</a>
<a href="http://www.conanp.gob.mx">Comision National Areas Naturales Protegidas</a>
<a href="http://craiglaymanlab.com">The Layman Lab at NC State University</a>
<a href="http://hixon.science.oregonstate.edu/content/research">The Hixon Lab at Oregon State University</a>
<a href="http://www.mona.uwi.edu/cms/dayne.html">The Buddo Lab at the University of the West Indies</a>
<a href="http://johnfbruno.web.unc.edu">The Bruno Lab at the University of North Carolina-CH</a>
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For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/" target="_parent">www.ghofish.com</a>
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https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/lionfish-web-portal-opens-for-business/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Sanctuary Classic Fishing and Photo Contest Launches June 28 at Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/contest2.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-2778 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/contest2.jpg?w=225" alt="contest2" width="225" height="300" /></a>A free fishing and photo contest celebrating recreational fishing in America's national marine sanctuaries and promoting conservation-focused fishing practices is to kick off in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Sunday, June 28, and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
The fourth annual Sanctuary Classic is to launch at Islamorada's The Islander, a Guy Harvey Outpost, beginning at 2 p.m. at the resort's fishing pier.
The family fun event is an cooperative project between The Sportfishing Conservancy, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to create awareness of ethical angling practices and illustrate the benefits of 'light-touch' recreational fishing.
Participating anglers can submit qualifying fishing photos to the Sanctuary Classic website at www.sanctuaryclassic.org.
One winner is to be selected weekly that best exemplifies themes such as biggest and smallest looking fish, best conservation message, most unique looking fish, most family-oriented photo, best display of responsible fishing values and more. Prizes are awarded for each winner.
Marine artist Guy Harvey is one of the judges. At the contest's conclusion, one winning entrant's photo from each Sanctuary is to receive a $1,000 youth scholarship from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.
Established in 1990, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is set to mark its 25th anniversary Nov. 16.
For more information: <a title="http://www.sanctuaryclassic.org/" href="http://www.sanctuaryclassic.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.sanctuaryclassic.org</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/sanctuary-classic-fishing-and-photo-contest-launches-june-28-at-islander-resort-a-guy-harvey-outpost-in-islamorada/){kind=link}
![](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=2011 Billfish Invitational Underway at the Bimini Big Game Club&body=During this week's Billfish Invitational tournament, Fred Garth, Editor-In-Chief of <a title="GHM web site" href="http://www.guyharveymagazine.com">Guy Harvey Magazine</a>, will be filing a series of dispatches from tournament headquarters at the Bimini Big Game Club.
Fishing began today at the <a title="Billfish Invitational web site" href="http://www.billfishinvitational.com" target="_blank">Billfish Invitational Tournament</a> with clear skies and light winds. Local fishermen have reported good activity in recent days leading up to today’s kick off so there’s plenty of optimism in the air. Twelve boats headed out early rigged and ready for action.
Anglers and dignitaries enjoyed a full evening of festivities Wednesday evening at the newly renovated <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a>, which has been rebranded and rebuilt as a <a title="About Guy Harvey Outpost" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina</a>. Numerous world records have been caught in the waters here and, of course, Bimini was a favorite haunt of legendary fisherman and author Ernest Hemingway.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/nedcaptmeeting11.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-717" title="Capt. Ned Stone, tournament director, addresses the teams during Wednesday's Captains Meeting" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/nedcaptmeeting11.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="400" /></a>
VIP guests in attendance at the opening party and captain’s meeting included <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a>, Mike Myatt, COO of the <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org/Default.aspx" target="_blank">IGFA</a>, Bill Shedd of Guy Harvey apparel licensee <a title="AFTCO Bluewater web site" href="http://www.aftcobluewater.com/" target="_blank">AFTCO Bluewater</a>, Frank Johnson of <a title="Mold Craft web site" href="http://www.moldcraftproducts.com/" target="_blank">Mold Craft</a>, and Sculptor <a title="Kent Ullberg's web site" href="http://www.kentullberg.net/" target="_blank">Kent Ullberg</a>, who created the Billfish Invitational’s <a title="About the Hemingway-Lerner Triphy" href="http://guyharveyoutpostnews.com/2011/04/29/hemingway-lerner-trophy-unveiled-for-guy-harveys-upcoming-billfish-invitational-in-bimini/" target="_blank">“Hemingway-Lerner” trophy</a>.
This is the first billfish tournament since the resort was rebuilt with the help and co-ordination of Guy Harvey. The tournament has not only attracted top fishermen but also an eclectic collection of artists and top marine photographers such as <a title="Pat Ford Photography web site" href="http://www.patfordphotos.com/" target="_blank">Pat Ford</a>, <a title="Scott Kerrigan's web site" href="http://www.scottkerrigan.com/" target="_blank">Scott Kerrigan</a>, and <a title="Bill Boyce's web site" href="http://www.boyceimage.com/" target="_blank">Bill Boyce</a>, who is shooting a documentary with Guy and his crew.
The Big Game is On, so much more to follow...
Garth Out! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/billfish-invitational-underway/){kind=link}
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