I Work For The Fish

I have been fortunate to be involved in an industry that I love and that I can call my career. For the past 26 years of my relatively young life, I have been a story-teller, forging images and words into messages that cover a variety of subjects. Some purely commercial, but many, I’m pleased to say, of great importance to our own species as well as to others with whom we share this planet.

In 1999 I had the unique opportunity to be introduced to these magnificent animals by a client and friend, Tim Choate. Tim hired me and my firm to produce a marketing video about his fishing lodge, Fins & Feathers located on the west coast of Guatemala. The concept of eco-business became very obvious to me when I saw that people were willing to pay thousands of dollars to interact with fish, in this case the billfish. From a sporting and recreational perspective, these animals offer unique experiences to angler of all ages. Their encounters are always magical. The billfish show themselves so vividly in all their regal beauty and strength, while the anglers on the end of the rods, experience what might be their greatest adrenaline overload of a lifetime.

As I began my quest for further knowledge about the billfish, I learned, for example, that they do serve a specific purpose in our oceans, and purpose makes all the difference in life, regardless of your species. Billfish, along with other top ocean predators like tuna, sharks and large marine mammals, maintain an important balance in the oceans. The billfish family has been swimming the world’s oceans relatively unchanged for at least 12 million years. We know and understand very little about life in the ocean. I find that incomprehensible, considering 70% of the world’s population derives its protein from the sea and 30% of the world makes its living in some way from the sea.

While on Tim’s boat filming for his marketing video, what anglers refer to as “the bite” — when the fish are biting the lures or baits being presented for engagement of the fight — had slowed down, Tim proceeded to tell me about some incredible video footage of billfish encounters provided to him by guests at his lodge. This was the small beginning of what would grow into a big idea — a made for television documentary about billfish. He told me that if a documentary was what I had in mind, I needed to meet Guy Harvey. Tim excitedly explained, “He’s the only person I know that has been in the water with billfish and has amassed hours of mind-blowing footage.” Introductions were made and relationships grew. Then began the painful, difficult and often frustrating quest for funding and finding a broadcaster who understood what a billfish is.

Guy Harvey has successfully illuminated these animals to a wide and growing audience through his accurate depictions on canvas, in photographs and in video. A marine biologist, Guy has spent countless hours studying and interacting with his finned subjects. No one has logged as many hours in the water with billfish as he has, studying their movements, behaviors, as well as their interactions with each other and their prey. His art is a reflection of the intimate knowledge and understanding of these animals that he has acquired and continues to acquire, in his encounters with them. I have the unique privilege of working with Guy, and of viewing and cataloging every frame of videotape he has taken of billfish. They left me feeling that the billfish are allowing Guy into their world and they perform naturally for his camera. It is this kind of committed study and observation that will ultimately answer questions about these animals’ habits and biology that will help ensure their existence.

Eleven foreign countries and eight major U.S. cities were visited to acquire footage of the billfish and the people on the front lines of billfish issues and business. As a result, among the people interviewed and filmed were: fisheries scientists, equipment manufacturers, tournaments organizers, boat builders, conservationists, environmentalist, advocates, charter boat operators, commercial fishing operators, fishery managers and regulators and good old fashioned, passionate supporters of the billfish. Each offered their own unique perspective of the issue, and many with valid concerns about protecting their interest or cultural heritage.

Many people were, at first, hesitant to speak with me because they believed that I represented only one side – not theirs, which ever one that was. So when they would ask who I was working for, I responded directly and simply: “I work for the Fish”.

This became my motto. And it has helped me maintain my focus and been my guide for seeking answers to what I believe is a complex problem and a serious issue. Thankfully, my team of production professionals have adopted this motto as theirs and each member has been equally inspired by the billfish. It’s been a fulfilling journey for all of us.

The ultimate satisfaction for each of us will be for this program to be viewed by millions of dedicated PBS viewers and people will start asking about, and taking notice of our precious marine resources. Only then can the billfish be assured a place in the future of our oceans.

Best Fishes,
Diana Udel

 

Billfish inhabit all the open ocean waters of sub-tropical and tropical waters of the world's oceans. In spite of their widespread distribution, their pelagic habit has made them very hard to study as the family of largest bony fishes. They have not been held in captivity, which is one reason why there is a lack of research work on these large animals. They are therefore out of sight of the consuming public. This is the main reason why I have attempted to document their behavior underwater on film, as well as through my paintings. The unique footage shown in this documentary gives us a glimpse into their fascinating lives, revealing coloration changes during predator-prey interactions, fin arrangements, intra specific communication (also possibly through coloration changes), and provides a hint at their swimming speed and their incredible maneuverability under water.

These close encounters have provided me with the inspiration for many paintings depicting some important aspect of their natural history. This may range from simple fish portraits to spawning behavior, but frequently includes the very exciting scenes of predator-prey interactions.

This documentary investigates the various user groups that exploit the pie that is the worldwide billfish resource, and helps to highlight the current predicament faced by the resource. The limited results of scientific research, and international commercial catch data point to overexploitation at a level which is threatening the existence of several billfish species. This documentary poses the question; what are we doing about the situation?

Guy Harvey Ph.D.