Results of seven US Shark Tournaments in New England and adjacent states, June – August 2014
Helmut Nickel (mail), Shark Year Magazine,17. August 2014
This post provides an overview of the outcome of the following seven shark tournaments which took place in the northeastern region of New England and New York State from late June to early August 2014 :
- 13th Annual Nantucket Anglers’ Club Shark Tournament, Nantucket, MA
- 33rd Annual Snug Harbor Marina Shark Tournament, Wakefield, RI
- 2nd Annual Shark’s Eye Tournament, Montauk, NY
- 1st Annual Block Island Giant Shark Tournament, Block Island, RI
- 1st Annual New Bedford’s North Atlantic Shark Tournament, New Bedford, MA
- 28th Annual Monster Shark Tournament, Newport, RI
- 44th Annual Shark Tag Tournament, Montauk, NY
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13th Annual Nantucket Anglers’ Club Shark Tournament
Location: Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA.
Date: 02.-03. August 2014
Bad weather hampered this year’s Nantucket Anglers’ Club Shark Tournament.
Ten boats competed in the tourney and only two sharks were caught.
WINNER
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 190.5 lbs
Angler: Angus MacVicar
Boat: Turmoil
Source: The Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror.
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33rd Annual Snug Harbor Marina Shark Tournament
Location: Snug Harbor Marina, Wakefield, South Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.
Date: 12.-13. July 2014
Last month, 57 boats and 200 anglers participated in the 33rd edition of the annual Snug Harbor Shark Tournament.
During the two-day fishing competition, a total of 43 sharks were tagged and released
with only eight specimens brought to the weigh-in station.
The largest thresher shark and largest fish overall was a 295 lbs specimen reeled in by Adam Littlefield,
who was fishing aboard the ‘Striker’.
Bill Ward and the Crew of the ‘Bilda’ landed the heaviest mako shark that weighed 251 lbs at the scale.
Blue sharks were completely absent at the weigh-in station.
WINNERS
Mako Division:
1st Place:
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 251 lbs
Angler: Bill Ward
Boat: Bilda
2nd Place:
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 160 lbs
Angler: Matt Caruso
Boat: REEL Magic
Thresher Division:
1st Place ( and Grand Prize Winner)
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 295 lbs
Angler: Adam Littlefield
Boat: Striker
2nd Place
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 204 lbs
Angler: Jim Devecchis
Boat: Skinny T
Blue Shark Division:
VACANT
Team Tagging
Boat: Knot Reel Teeth
No. of Tags: 14
Individual Tagging
Don Mederios – Jessica Lee
No. of Tags: 13
Ladies Division:
VACANT
Juniors Division:
VACANT
Sources: Snug Harbor Marina, Warwick Beacon.
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2nd Annual Shark’s Eye Tournament
Location: Montauk Marine Basin, Montauk, New York, USA.
Date: 11.-13. July 2014
The Shark’s Eye Tournament is the only All-Release ( No-Kill ) fishing competition presented in this post.
During the two days of fishing, the participating anglers caught and released a total of 53 sharks:
27 blue sharks (Prionace glauca), 24 makos (Isurus oxyrinchus) and 2 tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier),
which is a quite uncommon species in the waters off Long Island.
Six specimens ( three makos, two tiger sharks and one blue shark) received satellite tags to track their movements.
WINNERS
1st Place
Boat: Nasty Ness
Points: 38
Catches: 14 sharks ( 6 blue and 8 mako sharks ).
2nd Place
Boat: Free Nicky
Points: 38
Catches: 11 sharks ( 2 blue, 7 mako and 2 tiger sharks ).
3rd Place
Boat: Last Mango II
Points: 20 points
Catches: 11 sharks ( 8 blue and 3 mako sharks ).
Source: On The Water.
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1st Annual Block Island Giant Shark Tournament
Location: Payne’s Dock, Block Island, Rhode Island, USA.
Date: 17. – 19. July 2014
This event is a newcomer to the shark tournament scene in New England.
Apparently, only two sharks (other source: three makos) were registered at the weigh-in station.
Tournament Winner:
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 231.1 lbs
Angler: Steve Zajack
Boat: White Hawk
Other Weigh-in :
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 166.1 lbs
Angler: Ed Ingalls
Boat: Atlantic Hunter
Source: Block Island Giant Shark Tournament
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New Bedford’s North Atlantic Shark Tournament
Location: Pier 3, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.
Date: 17.-20. July 2014
Twenty boats entered the first-ever edition of the North Atlantic Shark Tournament
which was held at City Pier 3 in New Bedford.
According to the organizer, this non-profit Shark Tournament has been established by fishermen focused
on funding the education and science for sustainable fisheries management.
All proceeds from the tournament will benefit fishermen’s right to fish and will be used to promote the fight for a sustainable fishery.
WINNERS
1st Place:
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 282 lbs
Boat: Beagle
2nd Place:
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 229 lbs
Boat: Tee Time
3rd Place:
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 224 lbs
Boat: Sarah B
Source: WBSM
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2014 Newport Monster Shark Tournament
( 28th Annual Monster Shark Tournament )
Location: Casey’s Marina, Newport, Rhode Island , USA.
Date: 17. – 20. July 2014
The 2014 Monster Shark Tournament was held in memory of its founder Steven James
who passed away in January.
For the last 27 years, Steven James and the Boston Big Game Fishing Club had organized
the famous shark fishing competition in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
But due to the controversy surrounding this so-called ‘kill tournament’,
the new organizer decided to move this event to Newport in the neighboring state of Rhode Island for 2014.
A total of 51 captains registered for the 2014 Monster Shark Tourney at its new venue at Casey’s Marina.
As in the previous year (see 2013 results here),
the team of the boat ‘Magellan’ claimed the first place of the rankings once again by landing
two impressive porbeagles, of which the largest specimen weighed in at 430 lbs.
The catch earned Len Greiner of the ‘Magellan’ a $20,000 payday (excluding Calcutta).
Several 100 lbs of shark meat was given to food banks.
But the vast majority of fish caught in the tournament were released with dozens of sharks being tagged,
including a large hammerhead shark (Sphyrna sp.) that was estimated at 400 lbs.
A video showing one of the landed porbeagles is embedded below.
WINNERS
1st Place
Species: Porbeagle (Lamna nasus)
Weight: 430 lbs and 378 lbs ( two specimens caught )
Boat: Magellan
2nd Place
Species: Porbeagle (Lamna nasus)
Weight: 356 lbs
Boat: Karen Jean II
3rd Place
Species: Thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus)
Weight: 265 lbs
Boat: Reel EZ
Noteworthy Catch:
An estimated 400 lbs Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna sp.) was tagged and released.
Related Video ( uploaded by ‘wicked tuna’ on 19. July 2014 ):
Casey marina shark tournament July 18 2014 Newport RI
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44th Annual Shark Tag Tournament
Location: Montauk Marine Basin, Montauk, New York, USA.
Date: 26.- 28. June 2014
A total of 50 boats participated in this year’s edition of the Montauk Marine Basin Shark Tournament.
The event was taped to be broadcasted on NBC Sports.
All the relevant weigh-ins are listed below
WINNERS
Mako Division
1st Place
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 352.6 lbs
Boat: Fish On
2nd Place
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 315 lbs
Boat: Surf Dog
3rd Place
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 268 lbs
Boat: Persasion
Thresher Division
1st Place
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 355 lbs
Boat: Nan-Sea-Joe
2nd Place
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 286.6 lbs
Boat: Slyvia Rose
3rd Place
Species: Thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 262 lbs
Boat: Miss O
Blue Division
1st Place
Species: Blue shark ( Prionace glauca )
Weight: 311 lbs
Boat: New Attitude
2nd Place
Species: Blue shark ( Prionace glauca )
Weight: 231.6 lbs
Boat: Nan-Sea-Joe
3rd Place
Species: Blue shark ( Prionace glauca )
Weight: 223.8 lbs
Boat: Emily Rose
Women Angler Award
Species: Blue shark ( Prionace glauca )
Weight: 204 lbs
Angler: Katie Foss
Boat: Reel Action
Other Reported Weigh-Ins:
Species: Mako shark ( Isurus oxyrinchus )
Weight: 224 lbs
Boat: Tiger Shark
Species: Thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus)
Weight: 525 lbs
Note: disqualified
Source: Montauk Marine Basin, Montauk Sportfishing