Article by Larry Jock
Mid-Atlantic $500,000 set for August 18th to 23rd
It’s been nearly nine months since Superstorm Sandy made landfall on New Jersey and while the entire coastline was impacted by the storm, much of South Jersey received only minor damage compared to coastal communities to the north. The crews at South Jersey Marina and Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May have been hard at work during the off season making repairs and upgrades at both facilities in preparation for the upcoming season. Among them was the completion of dredging of Canyon Club Resort Marina to an eight-foot-plus depth at mean low water.
Now in its 22nd year, the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 is set for August 18th to 23rd and will once again attract the best in the business of big game fishing from near and far. The Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, NJ will serve as the host facility and tournament headquarters for boats fishing out of Cape May. Sunset Marina in Ocean City, MD has again been enlisted to serve as tournament headquarters for those who desire to fish from that port. Once again, full weigh-in of all species will be available at both marinas with a live video feed from each allowing participants to keep up with the action as it unfolds each evening.
Tournament week kicks off with the Registration, Captain’s Meeting and Cocktail Party at both marinas on Sunday, August 18th. Participants will select three of the following five days to fish the canyons offshore and regardless of sailing port, all participants must fish within 125 miles of the Cape May Sea Buoy. Billfish cash awards include $100,000, $50,000, and $25,000 for the heaviest, 2nd heaviest and 3rd heaviest white marlin and blue marlin respectively. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd heaviest tunas are each worth $75,000, $35,000 and $20,000. Other cash awards include $10,000 each for the heaviest dolphin and wahoo.
Minimum weights for billfish to qualify for cash include 65 pounds for white marlin and 400 pounds for blue marlin. Tuna, including big eye, yellowfin and true albacore, must weigh at least 50 pounds to win cash. There is no minimum weight for dolphin or wahoo. All billfish released will earn points towards valuable awards and the top three winners of each billfish category will be recognized. Tuna weighed will also earn points for these same awards and an award will be presented for most points overall.
A cash purse of $500,000 is guaranteed based on a field of 125 boats though calcutta proceeds will likely push to total purse well over $1.5 million! As in the past several calcuttas will again be available including the new My Port Calcutta which, simply put, is just that! This calcutta awards cash to the three heaviest white marlin, three heaviest blue marlin and three heaviest tuna caught out of each port during the tournament with the prize breakdown identical to that of the $1,000, $1,500 and $2,500 calcuttas.
Dockside hospitality is one of the trademarks of the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 and tournament participants will again be treated to nightly dining and beverages.
For further information please contact Tournament Director Bob Glover at 609-884-2400 or visit the tournament’s official web site at www.ma500.com.
NOAA & MD Fisheries Service to hold public meeting on fish release methods
NOAA Fisheries will be holding a public meeting on August 7th from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Ocean Pines Library to help anglers improve our marine fisheries, by discussing best handling practices when releasing fish, and learning about how anglers on other coasts are improving survival of angler released fish.
NOAA Fisheries Service and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are hosting the meeting.
Anglers will learn about:
• the latest techniques, such as recompression devices, that may improve the survival of the deepwater fish released;
• ways to reduce barotrauma effects (an increase in internal gas pressure that prevents fish from descending after being raised to the surface);
• release methods and devices being use on the west, south Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coasts
• the FishSmart and Best Practices programs that promote careful release and fish survival practices.
Anglers will be able to share their ideas with fisheries managers and scientist on how to best handle released fish.
For further information call Paul Perra at NOAA Fisheries (978-281-9153) or email at [email protected].
Virginia Charter Boat Captains Sentenced for Illegal Harvest of Striped Bass
Jeffery S. Adams, 41, of Hudgins, Va., was sentenced today to 180 days home confinement with electronic monitoring, followed by three years of probation for violating the Lacey Act by trafficking in illegally-harvested striped bass. Adams’ corporation, Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures, Inc., was sentenced to three years of probation. One of the conditions of their probation is the requirement to acquire and maintain Vessel Monitoring Units on all vessels owned or operated by them.
David Dwayne Scott, 41, of Lusby, Md., was also sentenced for trafficking in illegally-harvested striped bass, in violation of the Lacey Act. Scott was sentenced to three years of probation, a $5,600 fine payable to the Lacey Act Reward Account, and ordered to pay $1,900 restitution to NOAA. One of the conditions of his probation is the requirement that he cannot engage in either charter or commercial fishing industry anywhere in the world, in any capacity to include captaining or mating on a vessel or performing any services in support of a charter or commercial fisherman.
On January 19, 2013, Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures pled guilty to violation of the Lacey Act in the United States District Court in Norfolk, Va. The Lacey Act, among other things, makes it unlawful for any person to transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of the United States.
According to the plea agreement, Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures, Inc., admitted that they sold a chartered Striped Bass fishing trip on January 19, 2010, for $800. As part of that trip, Adams knowingly took his charter clients into the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to harvest striped bass, even though Adams knew that it was a violation of federal law to harvest striped bass inside the EEZ. Adams’ clients illegally harvested 10 striped bass within the EEZ and Adams transported the illegally harvested striped bass back to Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va. According to other documents filed in connection with the sentencing, Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures, Inc., routinely harvested striped bass illegally from within the EEZ from 2007 to 2013. Since 1990, federal law has made it unlawful to fish, catch, or possess striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
In a statement of facts filed with Scott’s plea agreement, Scott admitted that on February 7, 2009, he took a charter fishing trip into the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to fish for striped bass and when approached by law enforcement, 19 striped bass were dumped overboard in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.
