2008 Barbados International Fishing Tournament Press Release
The 2008 Barbados International Fishing tournament was a big success, and saw a total of 35 boats and 223 anglers participated in this year’s 19 annual edition of the event, with some spectacular catches being recorded as the teams reveled in the magnificent conditions. There were a total of 45 Billfish caught, of which 43 were releases comprising 35 Blue Marlin, 2 Sailfish, 3 White Marlin and 3 Spearfish. There were many Wahoo and dolphin strikes were not recorded, There were 2 Blue Marlin landed of 456 lbs and 507 lbs in pursuit of the 31 year old club record of 505 lbs, and the larger of the two caught by Barbadian angler Frank Armstrong on Challenge II with Captain James Peirce at the helm landed them a whopping $50,000.00 for breaking the record. There were also scores of Dolphin and Wahoo landed which mostly went to local orphans homes and charities, as well as kept the anglers well fed during the tournament.
There was non stop action from the Bimini start to the close of the scales, when local boat Challenge II with 1 Blue Marlin landed and 2 Blue Marlin releases came out on top in front of Ocean Pearl who also hails from Barbados. Sponsored mainly by Mount Gay Rum, Digicel and Sagicor Life, the tournament attracted teams from around the Southern Caribbean Circuit as well as internationally, and owes a great debt to all its sponsors such as Marlin Magazine.
The Barbados Game Fishing Association’s 20th Anniversary tournament runs from April 3rd to April 7th next year and big things are planned for the beautiful Port St. Charles Marina. You can check out the BGFA and the tournament at http://barbadosgamefishing.com/about
