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The
Barbados International Fishing Tournament is one
of the premier fishing events in the Southern
Caribbean, and attracts participants from across
the region and internationally each year for
five days of fun and competition. To describe it
as fishing Tournament may be to do it an
injustice, as it is truly more than that, since
the emphasis in recent years has been on making
everyone a winner. The 2011 tournament will
again be staged at Port St. Charles, St. Peter,
and continues to go from strength to strength
with visiting friends, anglers and their
families from places such as Antigua, Grenada,
Guadeloupe, England, Italy, Martinique, Jamaica,
Scotland, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Trinidad &
Tobago, and the United States of America. The
Tournament is certified as a qualifying event
for the annual IGFA (International Game Fishing
Association) Offshore World Championships, and
also forms part of the Southern Caribbean
Billfish Circuit.
The 2012 Barbados International Fishing
tournament is expected to continue to be a big
success, and previous years have seen an average
of 35 boats and 225 anglers participating, with
some spectacular catches being recorded as the
teams revel in the magnificent conditions. Prior
years averaged 40 Billfish caught and released,
of which the majority (30-35) are Blue Marlin,
and then a few Sailfish, White Marlin and
Spearfish to keep things interesting, along with
scores of Wahoo and Dolphin landed that help the
drive to assist the needy children of the island.
Minimum weights ensure that most marlin are
released, and whereas none were brought to scale
last year, 2008 saw the record 507 lb Blue
Marlin being landed by Barbadian angler Frank
Armstrong on Challenge II with James Peirce at
the helm which narrowly broke the 31 year old
club record of 505 lbs and landed them a
whopping $50,000.00 for breaking the record.
There are also scores of Dolphin and Wahoo
landed which mostly go to local orphan’s homes
and charities, as well as keep the anglers well
fed during the Tournament. Sponsored mainly by
Mount Gay Rum, Sagicor Life, Digicel and
Williams Industries, the tournament attracts
teams from around the Southern Caribbean
Billfish Circuit as well as internationally, and
owes a great debt to all its sponsors. Next year
will be the 22nd Anniversary of the tournament,
but the Barbados Game Fishing Association’s has
been around for 50 years holding mostly local
events prior to opening things up to
international participation. You can check out
the BGFA and the tournament at
http://barbadosgamefishing.com/about.
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Apart from the fishing, there is much dockside
activity after fishing to help liven the event,
and each evening after fishing sees hundreds of
people gathered to witness the boats arriving
with their catch (an of course their tall tales
about the proverbial “one that got away”), as
well as to join in the festivities. In this
regard, evenings at Port St. Charles involved
activities such as cocktail parties, a fashion
show, wine-tasting, live band, music, happy hour
drinks, pig-roast and fish fry to name a few.
Our local heroine and choice charity Dame
‘Auntie’ Olga Lopes-Seale attends on evenings
with some of her needy children from homes that
she supports, and they are given fish that is
donated by boats and the Association to take
back with them for use at the homes. In this
regard several hundred pounds of fish are sent
towards a good cause.
Sportsfishing has made remarkable strides in the
USA and around the world in rebuilding and
enhancing fisheries and the marine environment
worldwide, while at the same time providing for
enjoyment of terrestrial species such as the
fishermen themselves. This union has resulted in
a huge following with the latest survey in the
USA confirming that there are twice as many
Sportsfishermen (40 million) as Golfers, and
even more than Golfers (24.4 million) and Tennis
players (10.4 million) combined! With a combined
economic output in the USA alone of $125 Billion,
the economics of Sportsfishing make it a
remarkable case study on the marriage of man and
the environment. When you combine all of this
with some great dockside fun and frolic on a
Caribbean Island, well then as they say “the
rest is history”!
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