SOMETHING BLUE Earlier in the day, Bluewater and Safe Harbor offered a special excursion to 40 pre-registered Safe Harbor Members to visit CMAST, which is the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology at N.C. State University. This is a satellite campus situated on the captivating Bogue Sound, an important estuarine environment supporting spawning grounds and bait schools critical to our favorite inshore and offshore gamefish. By many accounts this “field trip” was the highlight of the Safe Harbor Members Experience, and several attendees left enthralled about what they had learned that morning. “If you’re interested in fishing, and being the best at it, then science and biology can be pretty important and interesting,” explained Bluewater Yacht Sales General Manager Wyatt Lane. The group of Safe Harbor Members took part in a presentation by CMAST Fisheries Ecologist, Jeffrey Buckel, Ph.D., and learned about how varying anatomy traits and the biology of different gamefish species provides clues to understanding their behavior. After this informative classroom presentation from Dr. Buckel, the group went downstairs to meet graduate students Bethany Wager and Ryan Tharp and get hands-on with the subject matter. Petri dishes of ear drums, eyeballs, fin clips, livers, swim bladders and more were laid out for inspection by the group and prompted an interactive question-and-answer session. Understanding more about how these organs work can provide insights into how gamefish behave in the wild, and thus lead to better success rates for those concernedwith catching, releasing and conserving the species. In respect to marlin fishing, this scientific knowledge can lead to better understanding of how these fish move, both in the short term (acceleration, making turns, chasing prey) and long term (seasonal migration patterns). Lane explained that learning more about how much time billfish spend taking deep dives vs. hunting and catching prey at the top of the water column can be informative for anglers targeting them at the surface. In short, size, sex, diet and water conditions all contribute to how a marlin behaves in the wild—and thus how an angler might best target them. 11 2025 SEASON
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