Shark Girl
Instead of soaking in extra hours of Disney Channel, eight-year-old Sophi Bromenshenkel has spent the last year and a half pounding the pavement to raise money for shark research. Through a brilliant campaign of lemonade, hot chocolate, and cookie sales (the latter were shaped like sharks), Sophi raised nearly $4,000 to help buy satellite tracking tags for shark research conducted by the University of Miami's R.J. Dunlap Conservation Program. Take that, Mr. Mouse! Sophi, AKA: Shark Girl, was Oceana's 2011 "Ocean
Hero" award winner in the junior category, and her efforts have been noticed by others, including the man she says is her hero, Dr. Guy Harvey. The two recently joined forces to raise even more money for the shark cause with a few creative strokes of a brush. The purchased artwork—which Sophi named Free Pass, because a loggerhead turtle in the painting shown swimming near the sharks was left
Guy and 8-year-old Sophi finishing a painting to be sold in support of shark research.
alone—raised $7,500. The funds will again go toward the R.J. Dunlap
Conservation Program. Sophi was also able to fly from Minnesota to participate in the South Florida premier of This is Your Ocean: Sharks, a documentary
featuring Guy, fellow artist Wyland, and diver and underwater photographer Jim Abernathy. The South Florida premier was held October 13th at the Bill Cosford Cinema on campus at the University of Miami.
GHOF president Steve Stock, left, shows off a beautiful sailfish.
GHOF President Gets New Gig
GH fans may not know Steve Stock by name, but they know his work. As president of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Stock is a central part of the ongoing conservation work made possible by the effort and funding that come from the Guy Harvey universe. In December, Stock was also elected to the board of directors of the Center for Coastal Conservation, a coalition of heavy hitters in the arena of marine conservation. Focused on impacting federal policy, the CCC is currently encouraging the White House to move its National Ocean Policy away from protectionism and toward responsible uses of resources.