I wrote about fish quite a bit during my Treasure Coast days, but this one is, without a doubt, the best story I have ever written about ceremonial fish portrayals.

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

STUART - Gov. Jeb Bush was the recipient of bad fish this week, as officials from the “Sailfish Capital of the World” discovered that a small sculpture they gave to him as a gift was actually of a marlin.

But thanks to a donation from a local artist, the city’s fish faux pas will be fixed.

Bush, as you’ll recall, brought the cogs of state government to Martin County this week as part of his traveling “Capital for a Day” program. Vice Mayor Robert Walker presented the governor with a small sculpture of what was alleged to be a sailfish as a gift from the city.

Of course, said sailfish was not a sailfish at all. The culprit behind the mix-up was City Manager David Collier, who dropped “about $42″ on the marlin in a hotel gift shop a while back for no particular reason except that he “thought we might need it for a presentation some day.”

“Most of my fish come on a menu,” explained a sheepish Collier.

Into the picture on Thursday stepped the gallery of local artist Geoffrey Smith, which gave to the city a 22-inch tall bronze sailfish sculpture worth about $4,000 as a replacement gift for the governor. Smith was planning to give the sculpture to the governor anyway, said gallery director Patricia Pate.

Mayor Gene Rifkin said city officials would present their new gift to the governor during a July 17 lobbying trip to Tallahassee, though Collier quipped that Bush would get it “only if he returns our marlin.”

Now for the burning question: Which is cooler, a marlin or a sailfish?

“I would say that, among the big game angling set, the marlin may be considered the more noble of the two,” said Jeff Weakley, editor of Stuart-based Florida Sportsman magazine after only very little goading. “Sailfish, however, are widely praised for their spectacular fighting ability, for their relative abundance. Sailfish are a little easier to find and catch.”

And which billfish would triumph if, say, a marlin and a sailfish decided to brawl? The marlin can grow to over 1,000 pounds, Weakley said, while the sailfish are generally found under 100 pounds. The big guy takes the title, no problem.

Less clear is how the ripples from the false fish flap foisted upon the unsuspecting governor played in Tallahassee. Shockingly, calls to the governor’s office went unreturned.

And though it remains to be seen whether this incident will spawn an urgent inventory of the city’s ceremonial fish portrayals to confirm their faithfulness to the “Sailfish Capital of the World” motto, at least this much is certain: The two finned critters that adorn the walls of the city commission chamber are, in fact, honest-to-goodness sailfish.

As for the two giant fish atop the Dockside Waterfront Restaurant next to city hall . . . well, let’s just say those suckers look an awful lot like marlins.

TAIL OF THE TAPE
Stuart officials presented Gov. Jeb Bush with a small sailfish sculpture during Tuesday’s Capital for a Day’ activities. Or so they believed. Turns out the alleged sailfish model was, in fact, a marlin. How could such a fish flap occur in the city that touts itself as the Sailfish Capital of the World?’ Consider the differences:

SAILFISH
Description: Exceptionally large dorsal fin. Excellent strength for its size and a spectacular fighter. Found off all Florida coasts and Caribbean islands, though generally closer to shore than most billfish. Numerous along the southeast Atlantic coast.

Size: Averages 30 to 60 pounds. World record is 221 pounds; Florida record 116 pounds.

Special distinction: Official saltwater fish of Florida

BLUE MARLIN
Description: Dark blue dorsal surface with whitish belly, the blue marlin has a distinctive dorsal fin that curves sharply downward. Considered the king of sport fish for its speed and power, but an elusive catch. Found in all deep waters off Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean.

Size: Generally ranges from 150 to 500 pounds. World record is 1,402 pounds; Florida record 980 pounds.

Special distinction: Plucky mascot of Florida’s first Major League Baseball franchise

Source: Florida Sportsman magazine’s Sport Fish of Florida

Copyright 2001 Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
June 29, 2001 Friday
MARTIN-ST. LUCIE EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 695 words