The Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation is bringing internationally acclaimed sport fishing photographer Bill Boyce to the Eastern Shore for Cocktails with the Critters, a fund-raiser for the marine science center it helps support financially. DISL’s primary mission is to promote wise stewardship of Mobile Bay and the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Boyce is a marine biologist and television host, and his photos will be the featured art at the annual event. It will take place April 24, from 6:30-9 p.m., at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center on Battleship Parkway in Spanish Fort.

Tickets are $75 each, and $50 of that is a tax-deductible contribution.

Proceeds from the soiree, which includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and a silent auction will benefit the foundation. DISLF Executive Director Freda Roberts said, “All of the money after expenses goes to the George F. Crozier Dauphin Island Sea Lab Endowment. The endowment was his creation.”

Crozier recently retired from his position as the Sea Lab’s longtime director, and foundation officials hope the endowment bearing his name will one day reach $1 million in cash. The group is working with the Community Foundation of South Alabama in order to reach that goal.

Items up for grabs during the evening include luxury condo packages in Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island, Orange Beach and Perdido Key; a vacation at Ogburn Villa — Great Harbor, Bahamas; a cruise from Springdale Travel; fishing excursions;  artwork; a Casey Downing sculpture and six photographs donated by Boyce. He will also have some of his photographs for sale that evening.

Host of “IGFA Angler’s Digest,” on the Sportsman Channel, Boyce has been active in the angling, conservation and journalistic aspect of sport fishing his entire life.

The native Californian earned his degree in fisheries science and began his career as a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Tahoe National Forest. He later worked for the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), managing the harvest of tunas, dolphins and sharks by the eastern Pacific tuna purse seine fleet.

After 16 years as a federal biologist, Boyce turned full-time to underwater photography and photojournalism. In his prepared biography, Boyce stated, “This interest in photography would grow to become a major juncture in my life. After all this back country experience, I was ready for an ecological change, and found exactly that … As my photography began receiving international acclaim, I soon realized the new lifestyle potential through its success.”

Boyce’s articles and images are seen monthly in publications such as Marlin magazine, Sport Fishing, Salt Water Sportsman, Big Game Journal, Pacific Coast Sportfishing and Australia’s Blue Water magazine. His travels have taken him to Africa, Australia, the Azores, the Bahamas, Belize, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Midway Island, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela, among other locales.

Roberts said the foundation was established in 2002 with the help of a Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant. The first Cocktails with the Critters was held in 2005, featuring the work of Ocean Springs, Miss. artist Stig Marcussen, who had been artist in residence on Dauphin Island for three months, creating a number of oil paintings and pen and ink drawings.

Because of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, the event was not held again until 2007, when it moved to 5 Rivers.

“We simply exist to support the Sea Lab,” Roberts said. “We support a public outreach program, as well as two-hour casual tours. In the fall, we sponsor the Spooktacular. It’s not scary. It’s all geared for young children and their families.”

Lisa Young, DISL public relations director, said, “The Sea Lab is the state of Alabama’s marine science, research and education center. We’re one of the few facilities in the country that has programs for kindergarten through Ph.D. level in marine science.”

Established in 1971 by a consortium of 21 public and private colleges and universities statewide, DISL is now the backbone of many of their marine science programs.

DISL also leads a Coastal Policy Group that works to promote responsible coastal zone management. Young said, “(CPG) is important because if you look at the national trends, more people are moving to the coast. The group advises developers, individuals and agencies what the best ways are to use our resources.”

The Sea Lab hosts one of the largest residential marine science programs in the country each summer. She said, “We have some of the nation’s leading scientists with us. Having these people interact with us helps to strengthen our programs. We’re fortunate to have these programs on our coast.”

DISL also maintains the Estuarium, a public aquarium that has been designated by the federal government as a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center, an honor also bestowed upon the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the New England Aquarium.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be recognized for the depth of our programs,” she said. “In all these programs we have, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation is working to support these missions.”

Young said DISL is currently building the Richard C. Shelby Center for Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management, which should be ready for occupancy early next year.

She noted the National Marine Fisheries science lab uses LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) materials, which will result in a savings in operational costs as well as being more friendly to the environment.

“Some look at specific species,” Young said. “We’re looking at the whole ecosystem. We think it will be more successful.”

When complete, the Shelby Center will be the only NMF center in Alabama.

For more information about Cocktails with the Critters, call (251) 861-8710 or visit http://foundation.disl.org. To see examples of Boyce’s work, visit www.boyceimage.com.