Sea Worthy
When the Big Boats Help Science
Fall 2019
Tony Gilbert was just out of law school when attorney Michael Moore asked him to help out on a temporary project for the International SeaKeepers Society, an oceanic philanthropy headquartered in Coral Gables. Gilbert, having spent every weekend of his youth at the family house in Key Largo, loved the idea of working on anything aquatic.
That was more than two years ago, and Gilbert has never left. He is now program director at SeaKeepers, where he matches the needs of local research scientists with vessels that are offered for service by local yacht owners.
“In the past two years I’ve learned so much that I joke that I am a fake scientist at this point,” says Gilbert, who never did practice law. “My job, basically, is finding those who have the resources and the means to help, and who want to give back,” he says. “More and more [yacht owners] are becoming aware of the damage to the global ecosystem, and what scientists need to learn in order to mitigate the damage.”
SeaKeepers was founded in Monaco in 1998 by a group of philanthropists, including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, to advance marine science with the help of yacht owners. Years later it was moved to Coral Gables because Moore, a Gables maritime attorney with a global reputation, agreed to become its chairman.
“SeaKeepers consists of many wonderful people using their yachts for the good of humanity,” Moore says. “And the model is simple. If you want to go on a scientific expedition, and your budget is one million dollars, and SeaKeepers provides you a vessel for free, your budget is now $100,000. We take 90 percent off the table.”
What this comes down to, says Gilbert, is two sorts of ‘in- kind’ donations: giving scientists time aboard vessels so they can conduct research, or asking the vessel owners to take on the role of “citizen scientist.” In the first case, scientists can hitch rides to do everything from testing coral reefs to tagging and getting blood samples from sharks. In the second case, yacht owners can do things like dropping data buoys or collecting marine samples.
One aspect of the Discovery Yachts Program is the use of special nets to collect microplastics and toxins from the ocean, for later analysis. “We have six nets right now, picking up samples,” says Gilbert. “We just give them the equipment, and the training to use it.”
In the last year, 17 yachts have been deployed by SeaKeepers, including one not-so-huge 37-foot fishing boat that retired Coral Gables MD Marty Arostequi has let SeaKeepers use for a variety of purposes, including water sampling. “I would personally go out with him and test the nature of the water in the Bay,” says Gilbert.
Right now, most of the vessels that SeaKeepers enlists are docked in Fort Lauderdale or the Coral Reef Yacht Club in the Grove. But for his wish list, says Gilbert, “We would love more participation from the yacht owners in Gables by the Sea and Gables Estates.”
The International SeaKeepers Society is holding its 21st Annual Founders Dinner on Oct. 31 to honor Amos Nachoum, award-winning wildlife photographer, as SeaKeeper of the Year.
