Thanks to Outback Bowl football fans and a pledge from celebrated marine artist and conservationist Guy Harvey, a check for $2,564 was presented today to Tampa Bay Watch, Inc. for its ongoing Honeymoon Island Oyster Reef Project in Tampa Bay. The donation represented a campaign pledge through the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) to give back $1 for each Guy Harvey-designed Outback Bowl t-shirt sold.
The much welcomed funds, according to Capt. Peter Clark, president of Tampa Bay Watch, will be applied towards a community-based construction project to install a series of seven new oyster reef systems (approximately 7,633 square feet and 24 tons) offshore Honeymoon Island in Pinellas County. Tampa Bay Watch, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary, is working in partnership with Florida State Parks on the Honeymoon Island Oyster Reef Project.
“Creation of these oyster communities will provide hard bottom habitats for fish and wildlife resources, promote water quality improvements in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and reestablish oyster communities in the area,” said Clark.
Clark said the location is adjacent to the Honeymoon Island Visitors Center and allows the opportunity for long-term educational opportunities for visitors, residents and youth program field trips.
This was the fifth consecutive year the Outback Bowl had chosen marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey to design the game’s official program cover and t-shirt. GHOF worked through Native Sun Sports, the Outback Bowl’s official merchandiser to market the t-shirts.
About Guy Harvey
Guy Harvey is a marine wildlife artist and conservationist who earned a Ph.D. in Fisheries Biology. His depictions of marine life, especially of sportfish such as marlin, are very popular with sport fishermen and have been reproduced in prints, posters, t-shirts, jewelry, clothing, and other consumer items. Harvey is also a very vocal and active advocate for marine conservation, having established the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University of Fort Lauderdale, Florida as well as the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, an organization that funds marine conservation research and educational initiatives. www.guyharvey.com
About Tampa Bay Watch, Inc.
Tampa Bay Watch, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to the protection and restoration of the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary through scientific and educational programs. Incorporated in 1993, Tampa Bay Watch performs habitat restoration and protection activities throughout the year, relying heavily on the efforts of community volunteers. Tampa Bay Watch is the first organization of its kind in the southeastern United States and has proven highly effective in mobilizing the Tampa Bay community to participate in restoration and conservation activities. Individuals from community groups, scout troops, public and private schools, places of worship and other associations have participated in salt marsh plantings, storm drain markings, coastal cleanups, wildlife rescue and resource monitoring, all of which demonstrate environmental activism in its purest form.
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