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Wild Oceans

Board of Director

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  Tim Choate

  Board Member
  

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  Tim Choate Board Member

  Tim served as Chairman of the Wild Oceans Board of Directors from 2011 through 2022, and he led the organization to many great successes during his tenure.  Tim has been an ardent angler since moving to Islamorada, Florida from New York City as a boy in the mid-1950s. As president of Artmarina, Tim has managed numerous charter fishing operations and lodges throughout Central and South America, including the Galapagos Islands. He pioneered the use of circle hooks in offshore fishing to enhance survival of released marlin and other big fish as well as the use of socioeconomic studies by governments and conservation groups to validate the correlation of billfishing conservation and tourism. In 2012, Tim was awarded the prestigious Frank Johnson Trophy for Personal Achievement in the Advancement of Big Game Sport Fishing by Guy Harvey Outpost, LTD and a year later received an IGFA Conservation Award for his role in passage of The Billfish Conservation Act of 2012.  Tim was also inducted into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame in 2016.

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  Tim Ervin

  Vice Chairman
  

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  Tim Ervin Vice Chairman

  Splitting time between Islamorada, FL and Onekama, MI, Tim can be found chasing salmon and trout on Lake Michigan, the 2nd largest freshwater sea, or working the Key’s backcounty and nearshore waters. A leader for over 30 years in government, business and nonprofits, Tim works on matters ranging from economic and community development to resource protection involving fisheries, water quality and economic development and building philanthropy. His focus with Wild Oceans is fund development and organizational capacity building.

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  Mary Barley

  Board Member
  

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  Mary Barley Board Member

  Mary Barley has served on the Wild Oceans board since 1998. She served as Vice Chairperson of The Everglades Foundation from 2003-2012. Mary is also Chair of The Everglades Trust and serves on the boards of the Atlantic Salmon Federation (U.S.) and the National Parks Conservation Association. She has received many awards and accolades for her work and been profiled in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Time’s Hero of the Planet. Mary resides in Islamorada, Florida.

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  Bill Boyce

  Board Member
  

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  Bill Boyce Board Member

  A native Californian, Bill spent four years as a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. He then spent twelve years working for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) monitoring and conserving stocks of tunas, dolphins, billfish and sharks by the Eastern Pacific tuna purse seine fleet. Bill currently directs, produces and hosts the award winning TV series, IGFA Angler’s Digest.

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  Jody Bright

  Board Member
  

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  Jody Bright Board Member

  Jody is a marlin fisherman by trade and a conservationist by rote. He has worked on fishing boats in 22 tropical countries, but now focuses exclusively on the Pacific. He has worked with the Fisheries Departments of most Pacific Island nations and regional fishery bodies throughout the Pacific Rim. As founder and President of the Hawaii Conservation Association, Jody worked with everyone from Native Hawaiian villagers to legislators in crafting and passing Act 306, establishing the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area. Currently his focus is field work and support of the blue marlin pop-up satellite archival tag program. He also owns and operates the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series, the first events in Hawaii to pay cash prizes to tag-and-release marlin.

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  Ken Hinman

  Board Member
  

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  Ken Hinman Board Member

   Ken has 42 years experience working professionally to conserve marine fish and served as Wild Oceans (NCMC) president from 1997-2019. He is a co-founder of numerous alliances uniting fishermen and conservationists, including the Marine Fish Conservation Network, Ocean Wildlife Campaign, Menhaden Matter and Take Marlin Off the Menu. Ken has authored hundreds of published articles on marine conservation policy, education and science. He wrote monthly conservation columns for Marlin magazine (1986-1997) and Salt Water Sportsman magazine (1997-2005) while writing and editing the monthly NCMC Marine Bulletin from 1985 to 2005. He served in a number of appointed advisory positions on fisheries matters, national and international, including the Ecosystems Principles Advisory Panel (1997-1999). Among the individual awards he has received are The Billfish Foundation’s Conservation Award in 1988, the Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award by the American Fisheries Society in 2002, and induction into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame in 2021.

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  Stephanie Osgood Choate-Oppenheimer

  Co-Chair
  

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  Stephanie Osgood Choate-Oppenheimer Co-Chair

  Stephanie Choate is the daughter of Tim Choate, our previous Wild Oceans Chairman, and is proud to continue with the organization as co-chair. Stephanie currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her family but continues to travel to fish and spread the word for Wild Oceans. Stephanie has won the Blue Marlin World Cup, the Bermuda Triple Crown, and is the recipient of the IGFA Gil Keech Heavy Tackle Award. She also holds the women’s 50 lb line class record for 1,111 pound black marlin. In her fishing travels, Stephanie shares our vision while inspiring younger generations of anglers to educate themselves in fishing policy and catch and release practices.

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  Stanley Arkin

  Director Emeritus
  

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  Stanley Arkin Director Emeritus

  Stanley, a self-employed venture capitalist based in New York City, is a lover of the arts and an avid angler who fishes from the east end of Long Island.

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  John Heyer

  Director Emeritus
  

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  John Heyer Director Emeritus

  John has been an active bluewater tag-and-release fisherman for many years. His interest in conserving marine resources is the hope that his grandchildren and future generations can have as much enjoyment from the sea as he has had.