Carey Chen may be a familiar name to most Cayman Islands residents for his marine artwork.
However the Jamaican national has a deep passion for fishing. A frequent visitor to these islands, Chen believes Cayman’s fishing scene excels because of its support.
“There is very consistent fishing here,” Chen said. “A lot of hard-core people support it. In 20 years time it will be the same people who love and grow the sport. There is good camaraderie and a lot of it is central, more so than the actual fishing. At the end of the day only some people get big fish but everyone can have a good time.”
Chen, 52, has been a steady presence at fishing competitions over the years. Most times his artwork is given as a prize for top catches and on occasion he is present as well. The same was true for 2011 with his last showing coming at the All-Tackle tournament in November as he handed out masterpieces to Shelly Ware for being the top female angler and producing the lone billfish release. Ware was aboard Run Tings when she nabbed a 32.3 pound wahoo (third in the competition) and a 28.4lb dolphin (heaviest for the event).
Locals can expect to see Chen in more tournaments in 2012. The first event on the calendar will be the Barcadere Classic 21-22 January. A Cayman Islands Angling Club sanctioned event, the competition is expected to see fishing take place around Grand Cayman’s waters with weigh-in at the Barcadere Marina in George Town.
The Florida resident states he is happy to contribute to Cayman angling.
“I’ve been doing artwork for the competitions for 30 years. I’ve seen the youngsters grow up, like Chris Briggs. The kids love this activity and they turn into good fishermen. I’m from Jamaica and I live in West Palm Beach but Cayman is like a second home. Here everyone is like family to me.”
Chen is not much different from many marine artists in that his passion for fishing and art extends into marine conservation. To no surprise Chen is friends with Guy Harvey, arguably Cayman’s foremost conservationist. The two have many similarities including forays into business (Harvey has a local restaurant) with Harvey also giving artwork and books as tournament prizes.
Chen states Cayman has done well to embrace the likes of Harvey and the philosophy of protecting oceanic ecosystems.
“I’m mainly a marine artist though I also have a business selling fish merchandise, clothing and jewellery. Cayman is one of the most conservation-minded countries in the Caribbean. For me that has helped Cayman tourism make incredible leaps through things like (diving near the) reefs.
“You wont see that for example in Jamaica, where you have a lot of poor people fish off the reefs. Here you have much of the anglers go out to the banks and that’s through education and protecting what you have. Years ago we in the Caribbean used to kill marlin but then we realized release is the way to go.”
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