Sea Horse Anglers Club May 2011 N EWSLETTER P.O. Box 1847 Hamilton HM HX Bermuda www.seahorseanglers.bm shac.newsletter@gmail.com Next Meeting: Tuesday May 3rd, 8pm, Mariners Club Dr. Tammy Trott of The Ministry of Fisheries will be giving a presentation on the new fishing rules and regulations now in force and how they affect the recreational angler. This should be a very useful and informative talk with the opportunity to put forward any questions or concerns. Hope to see you there. 50 / 50 Winners, April: $250 Fuel Voucher - Gilbert Amaral $60 - Valter Couto $40 - Joe Paulo $20 - Jacob Estis $20 - Donny Moniz $15 - Jorge Amaro Upcoming Tournaments: S H AC A N N UA L A WA R D S P R E S E N T A T I O N Monday 5 th April saw the annual coming together of around 35 members of Sea Horse Anglers Club to recognise the achievements of our outstanding anglers of 2010. The evening s events kicked off with cocktails in the Mariners Club Bar, followed by a fine buffet catered by Flying Chef, which seemed to be a hit with all. David Pantry and TeeJay presented footage (Bonnier coverage and impressive DIY montage, respectively) of the clubs 2010 Billfish Tournament, the final event of the Bermuda Triple Crown. Club Secretary, Edward Barnes, was also top billing prior to the presentation (due to a rapidly diminishing laptop battery!) with a very interesting video, Getting the Shot, featuring wildlife photographer Marc Montocchio and his quest to capture on film free swimming billfish, some of which was filmed right here in Bermuda, aboard Click Through, with some extremely impressive results. The video can be found at their website (www.occhioinc.com) - a look at the site is highly recommended. The presentation itself entailed a multitude of trophies and prizes awarded by club president, David De-Silva, based on the self registered catch reports for 2009/10 season, the official results of which can be found on page 2. Notably, the Estis family took home an outstanding haul of accolades (see picture) including High Point Junior Angler, High Point Boat & Vice Presidents Trophy. Don t forget to register your catch at the club website, www.seahorseanglers.com, to be in with a chance of appearing on next year s leader board. Club treasurer, Donna Amaral, was also presented with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers from the club, for her efforts in arranging the nights events, handed over by her husband and club vice president, Gilbert Amaral. (I swear I saw a tear in the eye!) The 2011 Fish n Jackpot was also drawn at the end of the evening, where members are rewarded for regular attendance and participation at the monthly meeting. This year the committee had decided that rather than subsidise a charter which the drawn members would arrange amongst themselves, which was the old format (and usually proving difficult to co-ordinate), that it would be re-vamped. The new format being that the club selects and charters a boat for a team entry (x4 anglers this year the club actually provided for two teams) into the Bermuda Game Fishing Club Annual Tournament (BFCAT) The mutual benefit being that the winners get a day of fishing, experience a mix of character / angling experience / camaraderie and SHAC is represented in the tournament. The teams / boats for this year s tournament, to be held on Sunday May 1 st, are as below: May 1st BGFA Tournament (BFCAT) May 15th BAC Fun Tournament May 29th Sandys Boat Club Tournament BWAC Chairman v Bar Chairman 1st Round Full Schedule Page 4
Page 2 May 2011 Compiled and presented by Donna Amaral Don t forget to register your catch at the club website or email details to Donna or the Newsletter address and we will enter them for you.
Newsletter Page 3 Island s Enchanting, Endangered Seahorses April 14, 2011 by bernews It s easy to understand why Bermuda s endangered seahorses remain an enduring source of fascination: with a head like a horse, a snout like an aardvark a prehensile tail like a monkey and the ability to change colours like a chameleon, the seahorse is anything but ordinary. And perhaps what most distinguishes seahorses from the rest of the animal kingdom is their unique life history the males become pregnant and give birth Sadly, the mystique which draws people to seahorses is the reason they are in jeopardy in both Bermuda s waters and globally. Of the 34 known seahorse species, eight are included on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature s Red List of threatened animals. A number of factors are contributing to the decline of seahorse populations worldwide: loss of coral reefs and coastal habitats, harming fishing practices which lead to seahorses being netted as by-catches and the excessive collecting of seahorses. While seahorses are not common in Bermuda s waters, three species have been recorded locally: the Longsnout Seahorse, the Lined Seahorse and the Dwarf Seahorse. They can be found in seagrass beds and algae-covered bottoms, where they wrap their tails around a plants for support and use their colouring to blend with their environment to avoid detection by predators. Seahorses can also be seen on mooring lines and around docks. Unlike other fish, seahorses don t have scales. Instead they have bony plates covered by a thin skin. They also don t have teeth or a fully developed digestive system. Seahorses have fused jaws and eat small crustaceans and plankton by sucking the prey into their mouths and swallowing it whole. Seahorses engage in elaborate courtship rituals before they mate - sometimes lasting for three days. Each morning during the breeding season a seahorse pair greets and signals interest in each other by displaying bright colours, intertwining tails, twirling around and promenading side by side. If the pair finally decides to mate, they ll join together and rise in the water column as the female deposits her eggs into the male s brood pouch where they are fertilized. Competition is fierce and seahorse species are known to fight over mates. In Bermuda, the Longsnout and Lined Seahorses [pictured above] are both protected under the 2003 Protected Species Act. The Dwarf Seahorse has not been seen in Bermuda since 1905 and is assumed to have become locally extinct. In 1999, a study was proposed by the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo to collect baseline information on the Bermuda seahorse population in order to make an assessment of the population s size, health, habitat and geographic range. Most of what is knowm about Bermuda s seahorse population is based on anecdotal information, but from this information it appears seahorses were far more abundant in Bermuda s waters in the past. In order to take into account any seasonal variations, the survey of habitats began in January, 2000 and continued for the duration of the year. In all 39 sites were surveyed and included a mix of habitats such as sea grass beds, moorings, docks, and bays. The Bermuda survey s findings mirrored the global trend of declining seahorse populations Local Fishing Reports: Not a lot of info coming in but we are hearing reports that trolling is not producing much fish recently and that the presence of the migratory humpback whales has reduced local catches as a whole. There have been Bonita (Almaco Jack) showing in decent numbers, jigging on the banks with some small Yellow Fin Tuna making an appearance. ILTT 2011: This years International Light Tackle Tournament will be held between June 11th and June 17th with fishing on 12th/13th and 15th/16th. SHAC will be represented by David Ross DeSilva, Fiona Beck and Alan Charlton for the second consecutive year. Dolphins & Whales: As reported in Bernews, April 20th, conservationist and documentarian, Andrew Stevenson, head of Bermuda s Humpback Whale Research Project, encountered a large pod of North Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins whilst photographing and filming whales. The report tells of the playful dolphins cavorting amongst the whales and riding the bow wave of the research boat Ocean Potion on Friday 15th April, in the 4,000ft deep canyon between Sally Tuckers Point and Challenger Bank. Maybe of more interest to our demographic is the fact that dolphins and tuna often school together which could be a good sign to herald the start of the 2011 fishing season - Here s hoping!
Page 4 May 2011 Date Tournament Category May 1 Bermuda Game Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament IGFA Affiliated Clubs May 15 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members and Guests May 29 Sandys Boat Club Tournament OPEN May 29 BWAC Chairman v. Bar Chairman First Round OPEN May 29 Bermuda Game Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament (1 st alternate) IGFA Affiliated Clubs June 12 BWAC Chairman v. Bar Chairman Second Round OPEN June 12 Bacardi Rum Fishing Tournament OPEN June 11-17 Bermuda Anglers International Light Tackle Tournament Invitational June 19 Bacardi Rum Fishing Tournament (alternate) OPEN June 22-25 Brien/Pallot Fly Fishing Tournament Invitational June 26 Bermuda Anglers Club Annual Tournament Members Only June 26 Bermuda Game Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament IGFA Affiliated Clubs June 26 Sandys Boat Club Tournament (alternate) OPEN July 3-7 Bermuda Blast Billfish Tournament (2 days fishing) OPEN July 4 Blue Marlin World Cup OPEN July 3 Bermuda Anglers Club Annual Tournament (alternate) Members Only July 3 56 th Bermuda Regiment Annual Tournament OPEN July 9 11 Bermuda Triangle Billfish Tournament (3 days fishing) OPEN July 11-13 BWAC v SSAC here in Bermuda Members & Guests July 13 17 Bermuda Big Game Classic (3 days fishing) OPEN July 10 56 th Bermuda Regiment Annual Tournament (alternate) OPEN July 20-24 Sea Horse Anglers Club Billfish Tournament (3 days fishing) OPEN July 24 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests August 7 Blue Waters Anglers Club Junior Tournament OPEN August 7 BWAC Chairman v. Bar Chairman Third Round Members Only August 7 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests August 14 Bermuda Anglers Club Junior Tournament OPEN August 21 Bermuda Anglers Club Junior Tournament (alternate) OPEN August 28 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests August 28 Sea Horse Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests September 11 Royal Gazette News Wahoo Tournament Residents September 11 Sea Horse Anglers Club Annual Tournament Members Only September 11 BWAC Chairman v. Bar Chairman Fourth Round Final OPEN September 18 Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament (1 st alternate) Residents September 18 Sea Horse Anglers Club Annual Tournament (1 st alternate) Members Only September 25 Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament ( 2 nd alternate) Residents September 25 Sea Horse Anglers Club Annual Tournament (2 nd alternate) Members Only September 25 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests October 2 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests November 6 Bermuda Anglers Club Fun Tournament Members & Guests
Pa g e 5 May 2011