Dave Metcalfe had always dreamed of getting involved in the Water Sports Rental Industry because he had lived on the oceans most of his life and loved surfing, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing. In the summer of 2016 he started the first Jetsurfboard Rental operation in the United States. The Jetsurfboards we’re fun and exciting but Dave wanted to move into an Eco based rental business without motors and exhaust so a year later he started one of the first Solar Electric Mini Catamaran rentals out of Clearwater Beach, Florida. Customers loved the mini catamarans but the saltwater being as corrosive as it is caused consistent damage and daily maintenance to the boats so Dave sold the business and started Sharkey’s Glass Bottom Tours which is the business he is building all over the world today. Sharkey’s gives customers an incredible rare experience on the waters at night with his glass bottom kayaks and custom high powered underwater LED lights feeding fish at certain areas of his tours.
Throughout Daves years growing up on the waters he had always enjoyed the pristine beauty and the abundance of sea-life that the oceans and bays had offered but had slowly seen the decline of our sea-life from overfishing and Red Tide Algae Blooms which would create mass sea-life kills. As most of us have seen the Red Tide Algae Blooms have gotten worse every year and mass fish and sea-life kills are happening on a consistent level now in different parts of the world. In the last four years that Dave has built Sharkey’s Glass Bottom Tours in cities all over Florida he and his customers have experienced the Red Tide Algae blooms every year now and have actually seen fish die on Kayak Tours right in front of them. Sharkey’s Glass Bottom Tours has always been proactive on removing trash from the shorelines and waterways on every kayak tour they go out on but in 2021 they started using their equipment and employees to clean up fish kills from the Red Tide as well and make calls to action for help on news stations such as Channel 8 Tampa. Things are only getting worse with millions of fish and various sea-life dying every year from Red Tide and trash in our oceans. In fact there were 746 Manatee deaths in Florida in 2018 and up to 841 Manatee deaths in 2021 mostly from Red Tide killing the seagrass that the Manatees feed on.
Dave felt he could do more with his company to help, but more importantly knew that he had to do more to save our sea-life from Red Tide and Trash in our oceans and waterways. So as of July 4, 2023 Sharkey’s Eco-wear was created with the commitment that with every apparel or merchandise purchase we will donate a large portion of the funds to create awareness through advertising campaigns to prevent Red Tide and to fund scientific studies and to purchase boats that will immediately remove the dead fish from the waterways which fuels red tide growth and to save sea-life affected by Red Tide. Sharkey’s Eco-wear is more than a clothing brand, we’re a mission, so if you love our oceans and sea-life as we do and want to help, then please join us by clicking the SHOP button below.
When you purchase Sharkey’s Eco-Wear we’re using a portion of the funds to purchase boats, kayaks, gear and hiring our own staff to cleanup trash and help save sea-life deaths and prevent Red Tide Algae Blooms at all of our Sharkey’s Water Sports locations that we open worldwide!