$100k raised for sharks from local beer

(CNS Business): The five cents collected from every bottle of the Cayman Islands Brewery’s White Tip larger has raised more than $100,000 for shark conservation programmes over the last two years and there are high hopes for even more following a new partnership with local artist and marine conservationist, Guy Harvey. White Tip launched a new-look label on Friday, painted by the local artist, ahead of plans to export the beer to the US.

“The brand is going to start making its way into the US market and Guy Harvey has a name that will help us promote White Tip there,” said Matthew Leslie from CIB. “Every beer sold in the US will also see 5 cents going towards shark conservation, and given the popularity of Guy and his work, we know this is going to be a great partnership.”

Harvey, who has a number of restaurants and bars in the region and Florida, has been involved with the White Tip shark conservation programme for some time and he said that the cash collected has been used to pay for tags, as well as education programmes and fishing tournaments that encourage anglers to help track and catch sharks for tagging rather than killing.

He said the white tip shark is a fascinating species but there is a lot of concern about their numbers as they are one of the main targets of poaching.

Harvey said he was “overjoyed” when the brewery approached him about a partnership for the project because this was some of the best possible corporate sponsorship one can have for a conservation project.

“I know there are tons of other good causes to support in Cayman but the wellbeing of the natural environment is important to the wellbeing of us all,” he added. As a well-known artist and someone who loves to paint white-tip sharks, having Harvey redesign the label for the export launch is expected to give the beer the boost it will need for what is an the lucrative US beer market.

Harvey said he hoped the new label would help promote the beer because the more beer CIB, sells the more money will be raised for the project. He explained that the high costs of tagging is where much of the money raised so far has been spent. Given the rarity of white tips, more work is needed to continue the tagging programme and conduct research as well as cash for school education programmes in Cayman and to spread the word about shark conservation.

Sharks are protected in Cayman but Harvey said they hope to tag many more as so far only around 16 sharks have been tagged in local waters. Researchers have already learned more about the white tip sharks and have found them to be more territorial than previously believed. Harvey said the tagging is helping conservationists learn about their lives and where they go.

“We need to tag about 50 to 60 sharks to get a better picture,” he said, adding that it could take another two years to tag that many as numbers are low and finding and tagging them is not easy.

Tags: Cayman Islands Brewery, Featured, Guy Harvey

Category: Food & Drink, Local Business