UF researchers can now get up close and personal with shallow-water sharks.
A team of UF alumni came together to donate a boat for the Florida Program for Shark Research.
The CEO of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, the president of Hell’s Bay Boatworks Inc. and the president of Benedict Advertising in Daytona Beach donated a boat to enable the program’s shark research in shallow waters to continue.
George Burgess, the director of the FPSR, said the boat could not have come at a better time for the program.
“We’re about to embark on a series of projects in the Florida Bays and Florida Keys,” Burgess said.
The program has needed a flat boat in order to get into the shallower waters and perform the necessary research on the fish that inhabit them, Burgess said.
The program’s new boat is valued at more than $50,000. It is an 18-foot, custom-made flat boat used in shallow marine habitats. It has a custom railing to enable the researchers to work close to the water and a side-mounted steering console to provide more space for the research team.
Steve Stock, CEO of Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and an alumnus of UF, started talking with Chris Peterson, president of Hell’s Bay Boatworks Inc., another UF alumnus, about the possibility of making a donation to the program.
Both the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and Hell’s Bay Boatworks Inc. are clients of Benedict Advertising in Daytona Beach, which is owned by Michael Benedict, another alumnus.
Benedict and Burgess had discussed the need for a flat boat to conduct the program’s research.
“It was really a confluence of The Gator Nation that kind of pulled us together and said, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’” Peterson said.
Peterson said all three men knew the program was in desperate need of this particular type of boat, and together they realized they could produce a solution.
The program is focusing on sawfish research.
Sawfish are found in the shallow waters of the Florida Bays.
“The sawfish is the first U.S. marine endangered species in our waters,” Burgess said.
She added,“The boat is designed to enter very shallow waters, which of course, is where the sawfish is located.”
The boat will be displayed during the Homecoming parade on Friday.
Burgess said the boat is a product of a natural match of talented alumni.
“It’s a Gator love fest here where Gator alumni are giving back to their university,” Burgess said.
