Mako Shark Sport Fishing :(
The 20th annual Bahia Marina Mako Mania Tournament (Ocean City, Maryland) was held earlier this month. A total of 270 fishermen and 58 boats participated in the mako shark tourney competing for over $100,000 in cash prizes.
During the mako shark fishing tournament, anglers brought 21 mako sharks to the scales, as well as 4 thresher sharks.
The largest mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) caught weighed in at 220.0 pounds and earned a cash prize of $52,340. The second place mako was 199.2 pounds, and the third place mako shark was 182.5 pounds.
The largest thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) weighed in at 455 pounds and earned a $10,060. The second place thresher weighed 407.8 pounds while the third place was 318.7 pounds.
This tournament actually features a release award, which pays out to the boat that releases the most number of sharks. The winning boat in this category released a total of 6 mako sharks and earned $1,000 for their efforts, an obvious discrepancy compared to the earnings for killing the fish.
Here are the other weigh-ins for the tournament:
Species: Thresher ( Alopias vulpinus )
Weight: 274.6 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 176.7 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 157 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 154.4 lbs
Date: 05. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 150.3 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 148.3 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 147.5 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 142.3 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 129.3 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 127.2 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 125.3 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 125.2 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 120.3 lbs
Date: 03. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 114.3 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
Species: Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Weight: 111.3 lbs
Date: 04. June 2016
The payouts this year seemed much higher when compared to last year for the same tournament. Last year’s first place mako shark winner was 281.6 pounds (61.6 pounds heavier than this year) and cashed in at $27,590. The first place thresher shark in 2015 weighed in at 500 pounds and brought the fishermen just $2,760. In 2015, only 37 boats competed and just 13 sharks (10 mako and 3 thresher) were landed and weighed, although 2 of the first were disqualified as they did not meet the minimum 100 pound requirement. The release reward, still just $1,000, was given to a boat that released 7 sharks.
