University of Miami study shows alarming accumulation of BMAA neurotoxins in shark fins; may pose a threat to shark fin consumers

MIAMI – (February 23, 2012) – Sharks are among the most threatened of marine species worldwide due to unsustainable overfishing. Sharks are primarily killed for their fins alone, to fuel the growing demand for shark fin soup, which is an Asia delicacy. A new study by University of Miami (UM) scientists in the journal Marine Drugs has discovered high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins, a neurotoxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases in humans including Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig Disease (ALS). The study suggests that consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage pills may pose a significant health risk for degenerative brain diseases.

“Shark fins are primarily derived through finning, a practice where by shark fins are removed at sea and the rest of the mutilated animal is thrown back in the water to die,” said co-author Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, research assistant professor of Marine Affairs & Policy and director of the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program (RJD) at UM. “Estimates suggest that fins from as many as 70 million sharks end up in soup. As a result, many shark species are on the road to extinction. Because sharks play important roles in maintaining balance in the oceans, not only is shark fin soup injurious to the marine environment, but our study suggests that it is likely harmful to the people who are consuming them.”

Seven species of shark were tested for this study: blacknose, blacktip, bonnethead, bull, great hammerhead, lemon, and nurse sharks. Samples were collected from live animals in waters throughout South Florida.

“The concentrations of BMAA in the samples are a cause for concern, not only in shark fin soup, but also in dietary supplements and other forms ingested by humans, ” says study co-author Prof. Deborah Mash, Director of the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank. The Bank supports basic and clinical research and holds one of the world’s largest collection of postmortem human brains encompassing a wide range of neurological disorders. In 2009, Prof. Mash and her co-authors published a study in the journal Acta Neurological Scandinavica, demonstrating that patients dying with diagnoses of Alzheimer’s Disease and ALS had unusually high levels of BMAA in their brains up to 256 ng/mg, whereas normal healthy aged people had no BMAA, or only trace quantities of the toxin present. “BMAA was first linked to neurodegenerative diseases in Guam, which resulted in the progressive loss of structure and function of neurons.”

The shark study found a similar range and even higher BMAA in the fins tested. The new study found levels of between 144 and 1836 ng/mg of BMAA, which overlapped the levels we measured in the brains of Alzheimer’s and ALS victims. Surprisingly, this level fits with the BMAA levels in fruit bats examined by Paul Cox, animals which concentrate BMAA from their diet of cycad seeds. He linked ingestion of fruit bats to the severe ALS/Parkinsonism dementia that afflicted many people in Guam.

“Not only does this work provide important information on one probable route of human exposure to BMAA, it may lead to a lowering of the demand for shark fin soup and consumption of shark products, which will aid ocean conservation efforts,” added Hammerschlag.

Guy Harvey & tiger shark - Bahamas. Photo courtesy of Neil Hammerschlag.

Fishes of the Open Ocean: The inside story

The idea for a book on the pelagic fish of the world came about many years ago. In giving talks at numerous fishing clubs and spending countless hours on board game fishing boats around the world, it became clear to me that anglers have an unquenchable thirst for information on these fabulous fishes and the world in which they dwell. No existing book covered this topic, and having spent a fair chunk of my life studying and reading about these fish, I figured it couldn’t be that hard to produce a book that would help to satisfy at least some of this curiosity.

The early, modest plan was to write a field guide to the marine gamefish of the Pacific – a typical ‘fish book’ with a paragraph or two on each species of fish and some notes on how to identify them. Of course, these things have a way of growing, so pretty soon, the plan was to encompass all of the marine gamefish of the world, and then – heck, why not add in all those other fish species that make up the ecosystem of the surface of the open ocean? Sure, why not? And so, the working title, Fishes of the Open Ocean was born.

It is one thing to dream up an idea for a book, but entirely another to convince a publisher that this will be a viable project. That quest took two full years, but with the well respected UNSW Press deciding to go ahead with the idea, the task had finally begun. From that moment, every research cruise, every fishing trip, every visit to a fish market in an exotic location and every conference I attended added to my store of information and ideas for the book. And it wasn’t as if this obsession was over a short time period either. From go to whoa, seven years elapsed between signing the contract on the dotted line and holding the 3.3 lb. tome in my hot little hands.

Many things happened during that time that made this a very different (and I hope, better) book to what might have been written in the first few years of the project. One of these was the explosion in knowledge about many pelagic fish that has taken place since the late 1990s, thanks to the advent of data-storing and popup satellite tags. Hundreds of tuna and billfishes were being tagged all over the world with these mini computers, and the results were rapidly rewriting what we know, not only about their migrations but also about their behaviour, including their amazing abilities to dive to depths never before thought possible. Happily, much of this information is now incorporated into the book.

“Over 90,000 words packed into 266 pages, covering 170 species of fish, copiously illustrated with Guy Harvey’s masterful paintings”

The other fortuitous event that changed the way the book would appear visually was one of those rare but happy coincidences that, well, just happen. I was on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef to tag black marlin with popup satellite tags (yes, I know, it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it) and sharing the mothership was none other than Guy Harvey, filming for one of his excellent television series. Guy and I had known each other since the mid-1980s (not many know that Guy has a Ph.D in marine science), and one evening, over a few drinks, we got to talking about my book. Guy listened to my outline of the contents, looked at some material on my trusty laptop computer, thought for a while, and said “how would you like me to paint all of the fish species especially for the book?” It also happened that Guy’s good friend, diver, photographer, raconteur and now, fellow Bluewater columnist, Bill Boyce, was accompanying him on the trip. Bill’s underwater photos of billfish, tuna and sharks are legendary, so when he also offered to help with his images, I could only pour another round of drinks and raise a glass to both of them. (It would be remiss of me not to mention marine artist Craig Smith here. Craig helped enormously by providing much conceptual artwork to help  ‘sell’ the book to potential publishers, and for that, I am very grateful).

And so it happened, with Guy’s usual dedication to all projects he undertakes, that he did indeed complete this herculean task, producing 125 beautiful paintings that grace the pages of the book – classic lateral views of each species, and all done with an eye for detail of the natural colours and characteristics of each. Guy also supplied many of his beautiful panoramic action paintings of billfish which are used throughout, and Bill Boyce, true to his word, sent his best photos, one of which was chosen as the cover for the book.

The writing of a book doesn’t end with sending off the manuscript to the publisher and then sitting back and waiting for it to appear in bookshops. The work was reviewed by at least six international scientists, then edited in exquisite detail by a copy editor before heading for the design phase. This is where the ‘look of the book’ takes shape, a process in which I was able to take part, and in so doing, realised how much work is involved in that important part of production.

The end result of all those years of fun, hard work and roller coaster rides is a book of which I don’t mind saying I am very proud. Over 90,000 words packed into 266 pages, covering 170 species of fish, copiously illustrated with Guy Harvey’s masterful paintings and enhanced by hundreds of some of the best underwater photos of the fish in their environment. How could I not be pleased?

But what I am especially thrilled about is the way that the book has been embraced by the game fishing community. Because, while the book is aimed at a general audience of those who might be interested in the marine world, it was especially written for all of you anglers out there, constantly wondering about and enthralled with the reason you all go out to sea in the first place. The fabulous Fishes of the Open Ocean. Which seems a good cue to quote from the opening chapter of the book:

“The fishes of the open ocean depicted and described in these pages include the largest fishes on the planet – the whale shark, the basking shark and the manta ray. They also include the largest bony fishes in the world – the oceanic sunfish, the blue marlin, the black marlin and the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Some species, such as the streamlined wahoo and the sailfish, swim faster than any others while several of the billfishes and tunas and sharks make regular trans-oceanic, or even inter ocean journeys. Some of these fishes, such as the skipjack tuna, are among the most prolific fish species on earth, supporting huge commercial fisheries that supply millions of people with affordable protein. The fishes of the open ocean are indeed superlative in many ways. Welcome to their world.”

I’m pleased to say that the book has proven to be a success already. It won the presigious ‘Whitley Award’ for the best book on Natural History published in 2010, and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premiers’ Literary Awards in the category of ‘Science Writing’. The first edition hard cover sold out quickly (although you might be lucky and still be able to find a copy on the shelves of a bookshop here and there) and as a result, a second, slightly revised edition is now available. This has a softer cover, and is ideal as a reference on board game boats, alongside all those well-thumbed copies of Bluewater magazine.

There are also two very special Limited Editions of the book available. Both are hand-bound in 100% genuine calf leather, with special bound-in book plates numbered and personally signed by myself and Guy Harvey. The standard Limited Edition is limited to 250 copies. The Premium Limited Edition includes two hand painted tuna by Guy Harvey on the bookplate, and is limited to just 50 copies. And because Guy has varied the species depicted, and their positions on the page, each of the 50 copies of the Premium Edition is completely unique!

All editions of Fishes of the Open Ocean are available from Guy Harvey Art.

Third Location for Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts Program

Miami, Fla. (FEBRUARY 16, 2012)— Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts and Marinas today announced plans for opening its third resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, with the rebranding and renovation of the popular TradeWinds Sandpiper Suites to reflect the hospitality company’s emphasis on marine conservation and outdoor pursuits. To be branded the Guy Harvey Outpost, a TradeWinds Resort, the 211-room beachfront resort represents the company’s first Florida property, complementing its two projects in the Bahamas Out-Islands of Bimini and Rum Cay.

“The Tampa Bay/St. Pete area is a perfect fit for our first ever Guy Harvey Outpost in the U.S.,” remarked Guy Harvey in announcing plans for the conversion. “Not only does the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation support a number of marine research organizations and conservation initiatives in the area, but there are a seemingly endless amount of outdoor activities in the Tampa Bay region to keep our Outpost guests busy.”

“Florida has some 1,200 miles of beachfront but only one where the Gulf meets Tampa Bay. One great beach and two amazing bodies of water make for endless water sport activities and a great resort setting to use as your base camp,” commented Mark Ellert, Outpost president. “Conde Nast Traveler magazine selected St. Pete Beach as one of the top six Florida resort destinations in its latest edition, so we’re in good company with our decision to put a flag here.”

Designated a “Blue Wave” beach by the national non-profit Clean Beaches Council, St. Pete Beach meets the council’s highest criteria for water quality, cleanliness, safety, maintenance and conservation efforts. The Guy Harvey Outpost is situated at the center of St. Pete Beach.

In converting to a Guy Harvey Outpost, owner and manager of the property TradeWinds Island Resorts intends to further its commitment to bringing conservation and recreation together.  “The resort was the first to receive the coveted ‘Two Palm Florida Green Lodge’ designation for our ongoing conservation initiatives,” notes Keith Overton, president of TradeWinds Island Resorts.  “By teaming up with Guy and his Outpost hotel brand, we’re boldly underscoring our company’s commitment to his vision that the future of sustainable tourism sits at the intersection of conservation, education and recreation.”

Water sports are virtually unlimited in the Tampa/St. Pete area, notes Captain Ned Stone, Outpost Programs Director.  “You’ll run out of time before you run out of things to do in the area.”  Ticking off the many water sport pursuits, Stone adds “there’s world class offshore and backcountry fishing, scuba diving on mysterious wrecks, dolphin encounters, a life-time of back country kayak and stand up paddle boarding, kiteboarding and surfing.”

This 40 ft. whale shark was brought ashore near Karachi, Pakistan.

A sad end for a very majestic creature. The video below showing a giant whale shark being hauled onto a dock near Karachi, Pakistan was posted to YouTube yesterday and was later picked up by major news media around the globe. The footage shows the fish, reported as being 40 feet long and six feet wide (about the size of a school bus), being lifted out of the water by as many as 5 cranes due to its massive size.

According to Mehmood Khan, the owner of Charai Fishery, the whale shark was spotted unconcious 10 days ago about 93 miles from his business before washing up dead near a jetty yesterday. However, experts think the fish was most likely killed after getting caught in fishing nets offshore.

A Pakistani newspaper reports that a group of locals bought the shark for about $2,200 to “reward” the fishermen who spent an entire day at sea. The men plan to keep the fish at the harbor for at least three days for public viewing, then will sell the meat to a poultry meal business.

Whale sharks are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

February 2, 2012 (Gainesville, FL) – A record five graduate students at universities in Florida have been awarded $5,000 scholarships as winners of the Guy Harvey Scholarship Award, recognizing their outstanding achievement in marine science research.

The winners are Felipe Carvalho and Sarah Stephens, University of Florida; M. Laura Habegger, University of South Florida; Sean Bignami, University of Miami; and Kier Smith, Florida Atlantic University.

The scholarship, established in 2010 through a partnership between Florida Sea Grant and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, recognizes students at Florida universities whose research focuses on novel strategies for improving sustainable management of large marine fish and sharks.

“Originally, the Guy Harvey Foundation had planned on providing two scholarships,” says Florida Sea Grant director Karl Havens. “However, when they saw the high quality of applicants, the foundation was tremendously generous in deciding to support the research of five students.

“Clearly the innovative work proposed by these students will have major impacts in regard to meeting the objective of the award.”

Since the award was established three years ago, $24,000 in scholarships has been given to six students at Florida universities. Recipients also receive a certificate designed and signed by well-known marine wildlife artist and conservationist Guy Harvey.

Synopsis of the Winning Applications

Carvalho is conducting research related to the management of blue shark populations in the Atlantic Ocean. His research is about supporting the training of scientists and technicians to use remote sensing methods to track movement of these large predators.

Stephens is working with fishing guides in three Caribbean regions to teach them how to use dart tags to track the movements of permit, working in cooperation with the Bonefish Tarpon Trust.

Habegger is studying how the principles of physics and engineering can be used to understand the role of the bill when billfishes feed, in hopes of discovering practical management strategies, such as specialized fishing gear that reduces by-catch in commercial fisheries, or reduces stress on billfish caught in recreational tournaments.

Bignami is studying how the changing chemistry of marine waters as a result of ocean acidification might affect the early development of large marine fish, using mahi mahi and cobia as case studies.

Smith is developing and testing a method for treating fishing hooks with a graphite and zinc mixture which in preliminary tests appears to be effective in keeping sharks from biting the hooks. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of sharks caught in long-line commercial fisheries.

The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation is an organization of philanthropists, conservationists, scientists and educators that emphasizes sensible strategies for promoting ocean conservation and the development of the next generation of marine scientists. The foundation funds research and educational programs developed by universities, colleges, institutes and nonprofit organizations.

Click here to learn more about the Guy Harvey Scholarship and the work of its past winners.

Guy Harvey Magazine Editor-in-Chief Fred Garth and his prized redfish

Last Sunday I was standing up in my kayak sight fishing for reds and poling with my paddle when I saw a school of about 50 fish in a foot of very clear water 30 feet from the boat.

Reds are easily spooked by any movement or boat shadows, so even though the sky was gray and I had the clothes to match, I crouched down and quickly shot the fly a few feet ahead of the school and bounced it slowly along the sandy bottom (Reds are a bit lethargic in January when the water temps fall into the 60s, so stripping a fly quickly usually doesn’t work for me).

Suddenly, a fish tugged softly on the lure and I set the hook. He ran a hundred feet or so as I tightened the drag, sat down and prepared for battle. Ten minutes later I had him next to the kayak so I could remove the hook. I tied a stringer through his gill and paddled around until he was strong enough to be released. After that, I was fully prepared to cheer Tom Brady and Eli Manning to victory!

The rod I used was an 8-wt. The lure is an original called a “Rocket”, tied by a friend of mine, Dr. Greg Speer. The location is somewhere in Northwest Florida near my house. That’s all the info I’m giving out on that subject.

THE BAHAMAS—JANUARY 24, 2012— Dive legend and businessman Neal Watson has been re-elected for another two-year term as President of the Bahamas Diving Association.

Stuart Cove, owner of Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas in Nassau and Stuart Cove’s Tiger Beach Safaris on Grand Bahama Island, was re-elected vice president.

Watson and celebrated marine artist, scientist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey joined forces last year to open Neal Watson’s Dive Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club in Alice Town.

Watson has been a pioneer in the dive resort business starting his first dive operation in Freeport, Bahamas in 1965. He has been involved in owning and operating hotels, establishing a chain of dive operations, working in the treasure salvage business, stunt coordinator for the movie and TV industry, owned and operated an airline charter company and established a chain of Neal Watson’s Undersea Adventure franchise dive operations in the Bahamas and Caribbean.

In 1985 Watson moved to Fort Lauderdale from Bimini and established Neal Watson’s Undersea Adventures as a Florida Corporation.  Shortly thereafter he started USA Travel Network, Inc., which is an ARC accredited tour company specializing in diving and adventure sports travel.

Watson currently serves on the Board of Directors of DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association), which is the World Trade Association for the diving industry; and is Chair of the Bahamas Dive Marketing Committee, which is responsible for recommending budget expenditures for the Bahamas Ministry Tourism for the Bahamas Government Dive Market Promotions.

Personal achievements include breaking the World’s Scuba Depth Record, diving 437 feet on compressed air as well as breaking the World’s Underwater Distance Record by swimming 66 miles underwater, non-stop without surfacing.

From the Post & Courier (Charleston, SC) – Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012

The recent reporting of the recovery of a tagged yellowfin tuna comes as a surprise to fisheries biologists.

The tag, sent from the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries in Shizuoka, Japan, was just received by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources‘ (DNR) Marine Resources Division.

The tagged fish measured about 68 inches, weighed approximately 189 pounds, and was captured on May 26, 2010 off the west coast of Africa off Mauritania.

The fish was initially tagged by a volunteer angler participating in the Marine Division’s game fish tagging program on April 20, 2001, just south of Cat Island in the Bahamas. At the time of tagging, the juvenile yellowfin was just shy of 15 pounds.

This is the first recapture of a yellowfin tuna in the history of the program, which began in 1974.

“What makes this recovery exciting,” said Robert Wiggers, a DNR fisheries biologist who administers the tagging program, “is that 151 yellowfin have been tagged and released by volunteers, but none have been recovered until now.

This fish was at large for nine years, packed on about 174 pounds and was recaptured close to 4,000 miles from where it was initially tagged.”

As evident from this tag recovery, Atlantic yellowfin tuna are a highly migratory species and thus are a target species for both domestic and international fisheries. This fact should be of interest to recreational anglers when considering the impacts on the overall population of such fisheries.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has announced it will no longer serve shark fin soup at any of its 72 properties worldwide.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts,  Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, today announced its ‘Sustainable Seafood Policy’ including the commitment to cease serving shark fin in all of its operated restaurants as well as accepting new orders for shark fin products in banqueting with immediate effect. At the same time, Shangri-La announced that it will phase out Bluefin tuna and Chilean sea bass in all its operated restaurants within the year. In December 2010 the company initiated the process with the removal of shark fin products from its restaurant menus.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, Shangri-La has been working on a number of projects related to sustainability for several years, including the sustainable seafood campaign and the development of marine sanctuaries to ensure reef protection and stability of the underwater and marine life.

The effects of this new policy will be far reaching, as Shangri-La operates 72 hotels and resorts throughout Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East, and Europe, representing a rooms inventory of over 30,000.  In addition, new hotels are under development in Canada, mainland China, India, Philippines, Qatar, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Roll Tide! Guy has released a new shirt design to commemorate the University of Alabama’s latest football national championship! The shirts are on sale now at select retailers and will be available for online ordering from Guy Harvey Sportswear on January 16th!