(CNN) — A fishing crew lost more than $3 million in prize money after their 600-pound blue marlin caught was disqualified due to “mutilation” by a shark or other marine animal, according to a report. publication of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.
The Sensation’s crew caught the huge marlin during a week-long fishing tournament in Morehead City, North Carolina. In his opinion tournament websitethe marlin gave the crew over six hours of fighting before being captured on Saturday night.
The tournament live broadcast the return of the boat to shore, and the audience cheered as the marlin was hauled into the air and weighed.
But soon a problem became apparent.
“Okay guys, let’s talk about the rules for a minute,” said Tommy Bennett, a Big Rock board member and host of the live broadcast. “It looks like this fish was bitten by a shark.”
Indeed, a photo of the happy crew and the hanging marlin shows that the fish had visible wounds on the underside and near the tail.
On Sunday, the tournament announced that it had consulted with experts and that Sensation’s blue marlin has been disqualified.
“After careful deliberation and discussion between the Big Rock Rules Committee and Board of Directors with NC State CMAST biologists and North Carolina Marine Fisheries biologists, as well as an International Sport Fishing Association official “The 600-pound blue marlin of The Sensation was determined to be ineligible due to being mutilated by a shark or other marine animal. The fish was considered mutilated before being landed or shipped and was therefore unfit,” the tournament said.
“This decision is consistent with previous decisions made by the tournament under similar circumstances over the past 65 years,” the tournament added.
The Sensation reportedly earned $3.5 million for the catch, including more than $700,000 for the first boat to tow a marlin weighing over 500 pounds or 226 kilograms.
Instead, the crew of the Sushi boat, which caught a 219-kilogram blue marlin, took first place in the tournament, as well as a cash prize of US$2,769,438.
However, Sensation’s captain Greg McCoy believes his ship won the tournament honestly, he told CNN on Tuesday.
“We worked really hard, we felt like what we did with this fish was amazing, we knew we won the tournament,” he said. “I knew that fish would beat the rest of the fish in the weight class, and that’s exactly what it did. We followed all the rules. There was nothing nefarious or cheating or anything like that on our part.”
“We feel like it’s been taken away from us,” she added.
The captain said he believed the tournament arbitrarily applied the rules differently from year to year.
“The tournament is about catching the biggest fish. We caught the biggest fish. I’m not a resentful person. I’m not a sore loser. We won the tournament. We caught the biggest fish,” he said. “As they say, put it in your pipe and smoke it.”
The blue marlin, known for its spear-shaped beak, can measure up to 4.2 meters in length and weigh 900 kilograms. The Big Rock tournament record was set in 2019 when the Top Dog crew won a 900-pound marlin. A total of 271 boats took part in this year’s tournament.
The world of match fishing was rocked last year when the winning fish from an Ohio tournament were found to be full of lead weights and fish fillets. The fishermen, who were caught cheating on camera, were disqualified and lost nearly $29,000 in prize money and later pleaded guilty.
“A Bitter Drink”
The Sensation’s owner, captain and crew have hired the Wheatly Law Group to represent them in their efforts and are in a “quest” to lift the disqualification, attorney Stevenson L. Weeks told CNN. A protest of Barca’s results was lodged at the tournament before 11 on Sunday, he said.
“Tournament rules require that this dispute be mediated, and if not resolved in mediation, it will be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the North Carolina Revised Uniform Arbitration Act,” he said, referring to the dispute resolution section of the official tournament rules. . .
Sensation owner Ashley Bleau told CNN by phone Tuesday that she is confident in the merits of her case and would like to see the tournament rules changed to clarify the matter.
“Above all, I want clarity for everyone else in the future so fishermen feel safe…that they won’t get hurt at the last minute over something that doesn’t benefit them at all,” he said.
“We went from glory to defeat. It’s a bitter pill to swallow,” McCoy said.
Had he won, McCoy would have received 10% of the $3.5 million, a total he described as “life-changing.”
“I’m getting old. I have to think about my future. I have young children, aged 18 and 20, and I could have helped them a lot. I’m a hard working guy. I pay my bills and this money would have been reserved for my children,” he said. “I feel like we earned it.”
