Black marlin jumps in calm seas deep sea fishing off Cairns, Australia
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (NewsNation) — A fishing crew believed they won a marlin fishing competition on Saturday before they learned their massive haul was disqualified Sunday morning.
Officials at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, North Carolina, had to remove the 619-lb blue marlin from the competition after they discovered a chunk missing from the fish.
“After careful deliberation and discussions … it was determined that Sensation’s 619.4-lb blue marlin is disqualified due to mutilation caused by a shark or other marine animal,” the official statement said. “It was deemed that the fish was mutilated before it was landed or boated and there it was disqualified.”
The tournament said a fish cannot win if there is a mutilation of the fish by a shark or other fish, according to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Rule 23 in the Big Rock Official Rules.
Before being removed, the group Sensation was on track to win the competition. The group would have taken home $3.5 million in prize money: $2.77 million for coming in first place and $739,500 for the first catch of the year more than 500 pounds, according to the Washington Post.
Tournament officials announced this year’s winner to be Sushi, whose blue marlin weighed 484.5 lb. Chasin A claimed second place with a 479.8-lb Blue Marlin, according to the statement.
English (United States) ·