Cortez fishing giant and business leader named Manatee County’s Outstanding Agriculturist
Karen Bell was supposed to present a talk on the $11 million Manatee County seafood industry.
Or, so she thought.
Instead, she was surprised to receive the 2019 Manatee County Agriculturist of the Year Award.
The presentation, during the Kiwanis luncheon Tuesday at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, is one of the highlights of Manatee County Farm City Week.
“I am just shocked — thank you so much — because, and I thought, Scott, I thought we were here for you,” Bell told the crowd, and Scott Moore, a charter boat captain and conservationist who is being inducted into the Manatee County Agriculture Hall of Fame. “I’m just shocked that you all got one over on me.”
Byron Shinn, a friend of the Bell family, announced Bell’s selection as Agriculturist of the Year.
Shinn took note of Bell’s courage as a leader of the Cortez fishing industry, her insistence on safety and her innovation in solving problems.
“She gets it and has the guts to go around boundaries,” Shinn said.
The award Bell received Tuesday recognized her lifelong contribution of community service that has protected coastal and native habitat and for spearheading much of historical preservation efforts in Cortez.
John Stevely, emeritus sea grant agent, wrote that Bell is a founding member of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage. She was the lead negotiator in the purchase of 100 acres for the environmentally sensitive F.I.S.H. Preserve adjacent to the Village of Cortez. Bell has served as chair of the Cortez Fishing Festival which raises funds to support F.I.S.H. and brings thousands of visitors to Cortez.
Bell serves on local and national boards representing the seafood industry and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Reef Fish Advisory Panel.
“She fought for decades to maintain the economic viability and heritage of the Manatee commercial fishing industry. During these decades, she managed to navigate A.P. Bell Fish Company (founded by her grandfather, Aaron Parker Bell) through perilous and challenging economic times,” according to the award narrative.
“In 1994, a Florida State Constitution Amendment was passed by the electorate prohibiting the use of the traditional gill nets used to harvest a mainstay of the industry — the striped mullet. As a result, mullet landings were reduced by 50 percent. Through her creative thinking, sheer determination and willingness to take risks, she was able to grow her business through diversification. Her business leadership and example instilled others with the courage to take similar risks as the community has weathered each challenge,” the award narrative concluded.
The theme of this year’s Manatee Farm City Week is “Fresh Catch,” focusing attention on the local commercial fishing industry.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 2:57 PM.
