Yamaha Sponsorship Helps Power
Ocean Research and Education of Apex Predators
The reliable power and performance of Yamaha’s outboard motors may be tested under no more critical ocean-going conditions than when put to sea on the utility and mission boats of OCEARCH.
“We break things. When we find something we can’t break, we stick with it,” says OCEARCH founding chairman and expedition leader 
Chris Fischer. “We fight 2,000- to 4,000-pound fish — blue, mako, thrasher sharks — catching them in under an hour. We have to travel farther, quicker, in better fashion … and we have to have the best equipment in the world. That’s why we only use Yamaha outboards.”
Yamaha recently extended its sponsorship or relationship with OCEARCH, providing In Line-Four Stroke F150s and V6 4.2L Offshore F300s on the organization’s service boats. OCEARCH is a non-profit group that studies massive ocean animals. A leader in open-source research, in particular among apex predators, like sharks, OCEARCH enables leading researchers and institutions to generate previously unattainable data on the movement, biology and health of sharks to protect their future while enhancing public safety and education.
The team’s Contender® 28T — rigged with twin Yamaha’s In-Line Four 300s — and the SAFE® boat — outfitted with twin In-Line Four 150s — combine to deliver dozens and dozens of people and hours of service to the expeditions that capture mature white sharks larger than 4,000 pounds, while maximizing the safety of the crew. The boats support research work aboard the M/V OCEARCH, a 126-foot vessel that serves as both mothership and an at-sea laboratory equipped with a custom 75,000-pound hydraulic lift and research platform.
“There is only one choice — it’s Yamaha,” Fisher says. “The upgrade in horsepower is mostly helping us cover more area. The power in the 300s, when it comes to fighting the fish and getting it back to ship, I think, is so solid…. We’re fortunate to work with the best of everything. The bottom line is if equipment fails on us, serious consequences can occur. That is why we only use the most dependable equipment in the world. You’ll only find Yamaha outboards here at OCEARCH.”
OCEARCH expeditions are advancing both marine research and learning of apex predators and through the OCEARCH Education Curriculum, which features the Global Shark Tracker — a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning tool
being developed by Landry’s _______ [not sure what should go here]. OCEARCH is a proven global model with multi-year funding from Caterpillar, Inc. and critical product sponsors such as Yamaha, Costa®, Yeti®, Contender®, SAFE® and Mustad®.
OCEARCH’s field research generates knowledge at an unprecedented rate, in near real time. Sixteen expeditions in collaboration with over 20 institutions and 50 scientists have been completed to date, with more than 30 research papers in process or completed. During the course of the next few years, OCEARCH will travel to the Southeast and Northeast coasts of the U.S., the Far East and the Galapagos Islands to complete eight additional expeditions.
“Ocean conservation and education is of utmost importance to Yamaha, and that’s why we are so pleased to support the incredible research being conducted by the OCEARCH team,” said Dale Barnes, division manager for marketing at the Yamaha Marine Group.
Fans can follow the OCEARCH team on their expeditions by visiting OCEARCH.org, dropping in on the OCEARCH Facebook page, viewing OCEARCH projects on YouTube, or accessing the Global Shark Tracker.
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Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,000 U.S. dealers and boat builders with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard brand to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. This document contains many of Yamaha’s valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only, and are not intended to be an endorsement. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.
