The development of Maps Unique began as a concept prior to 1988 to assemble information on prime offshore habitats along the Southeastern US. The target audience at that time was primarily personal for the Berry’s and the fishing team crew aboard their 42 Hatteras, the “Berry-Cuda V”. The Berry family are avid blue water marlin fishermen. Chip’s fishing buddies were always coming around wanting to peek at and get copies made of his on-going data assembly, which many referred to, as the “unique maps”. Thus, was born “Maps Unique”. With encouragement and Chip’s extreme knowledge of habitat behavior, the blue water and cartography then led to making his creation available for other fisherman along the Southeast Coast as a published series of detailed Bathymetric/Hardbottom fishing maps. Chip was the 1st person to produce a Loran bottom contour set of hardbottom maps for the southeast and was also the 1st to produce a set of GPS maps as that system evolved.

Chips many years of offshore travel in search of prime fishing habitat gave him the needed experience to research and assemble data of interest to the near-shore and offshore angler. Bathymetric information showing detailed bottom topography as a base was essential for depicting ledges, ridges, troughs and other irregular underwater features. Plotting the location and distribution of natural occurring live bottoms was also very important for the founder as these limestone reef outcrops create the ocean’s most productive pelagic and bottom fish species habitat. The ever-growing deployment of artificial reefs and wreck structures on Maps Unique ensures that even the angler who ventures just off the beach has access to prime fishing habitat. Chip continues to update his products and strives for the most comprehensive and complete habitat mapping system for the southeast coast.