TOURNAMENT YEAR: January 1 thru December 31.

GENERAL RULES: BOTY and Swordfish BOTY

Ports: Boats must leave from and return to St. Augustine, Ponce Inlet, Mayport, or Fernandina (St Mary's Entrance). There are no boundaries. 

Communications: VHF Channel 72 or as directed by the Board of Directors. 

The General Member must be on board their designated boat for a catch to be awarded points unless the boat has a Designated Captain. In which case, the Designated Captain must be on board their designated boat for a catch to be awarded points. 

Each General Member/Designated Captain Member must designate their boat at the beginning of the fishing year in the NEFMA BOTY App. Annual dues must be paid before any catches count. If boat ownership changes during the fishing year, the new boat must be designated to the Club as their official boat before any fish caught will be counted. More than one boat change per year must be approved by the board. 

A boat substitution will be allowed once if the designated boat has mechanical issues. An email should be sent to clubnema@gmail.com notifying the board of the change.

Fish must be brought in on the designated boat on which they were caught. 

Fish caught while the boat or Captain is chartered are not eligible for any awards. 

Chartered Boat: Defined as a vessel that is operated for hire for which 
preclude the sharing of expenses with your crew or business associates. 

Chartered Captain: Defined as one who is paid for the operation of the vessel while fishing. This does not preclude a General Member from having a Designated Captain Member or paying a captain to operate/maintain the vessel. 

Mechanical Breakdown: Boats must depart and return under their own power for their fish to count for that day. Once a boat is "under tow" it is disqualified for that fishing day. 

The above rules govern our BOTY fishing only. NEFMA organized tournaments may have specific rules of their own. Fish caught in those tournament are eligible for year-end awards providing all catch information is logged on the app.

FISH SPECIES: The club awards for the following:

Blue Marlin • White Marlin • Swordfish • Sailfish • Wahoo 

• Yellowfin Tuna • Blackfin Tuna • Dolphin • Kingfish
 

SIZE: All fish must comply with Federal and state regulations and legal minimums.

BLUE MARLIN MINIMUM SIZE: Any Blue Marlin caught and weighed that measures less than 105 inches (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) will not receive any points.

WHITE MARLIN MINIMUM SIZE: Any White Marlin caught and weighed in that measures less than 66 inches (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) will not receive any points. 

SWORDFISH MINIMUM SIZE: The minimum size for Swordfish as set forth by the National Marine Fisheries Service is 47 inches (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) straight measurement, not curved over the body. It is the Captain's responsibility to know how to measure Swordfish. Any Swordfish caught and weighed in that weighs less than 75 pounds will not receive any points. 

SAILFISH MINIMUM SIZE: Any Sailfish caught and weighed in that measure less than 63 inches (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) will not receive any points. 

YELLOWFIN TUNA MINIMUM SIZE: In addition to the minimum weight listed below, the minimum size of Yellowfin Tuna is 27-inch Curved Fork Length measured in a line, tracing the contour of the body from the tip of the upper jaw to the fork of the tail, which abuts the dorsal insertion of the pectoral fin and the dorsal side of the caudal fin.

WEIGHING MEAT FISH: Each Captain or designated associate member is responsible for weighing and certifying the boats catch. All fish caught must be weighed on a board approved certified scale unless otherwise stated. Entries must be submitted in the NEFMA BOTY app within 72 hours of the catch. Photo/Video is encouraged, but not required to receive Year End Tournament Points for released Billfish.

SCORING: The following point system will be used to determine Boat of the Year:

Blue Marlin - 601 per fish

White Marlin - 250 per fish

Sail - 100 per fish

Swordfish BOTY- Swordfish has it’s own BOTY competition. Points for Swordfish will not be included in the General BOTY category.

126 pts per release or 2 pts per pound caught with manual reel.

125 pts per release or 1 pts per pound caught with electric reel. 

Largest for Year:

WAHOO YFT           BFT             DOLPHIN

300         300         300         300

200 200         200         200

100 100         100     100

Points - per pound - up to 3 per species per day:

WAHOO YFT

50+ lbs - 1 pt per lb 40+ lbs - 1 pt per lb

75+ lbs - 2 pts per lb 75+ lbs - 2 pts per lb

100+ lbs - 600 pts 100+ lbs - 3 pts per lb

BFT - 15 lb min DOLPHIN

1 pt per lb >25 lbs - 2 pts per lb

35+ lbs - 4 pts per lb

  50+ lbs - 600 pts

KINGFISH

25+ lbs - 1 pt per lb

40+ lbs - 2 pt per lb

Boats can log catches 12 times per year. No need to declare and fish as many days as you wish. You will only receive points for the first 12 days you log catches.

A fishing day is defined as when you leave the inlet until the time you return. There is no maximum hours.

New Club Records: Any boat catching a fish that breaks the current club record for any species, including Blue Marlin will be awarded a bonus equivalent to the first place points for that species. If a record is broken more than once during the fishing year, each boat that breaks a record will receive and keep their bonus points. 

Ties will be broken by the time of accumulation of points. In the case of tied points, the winner is who accumulated the points first. 

GENERAL RELEASING RULES: 

The fish must be intentionally released. The recommended method is to remove the hook. To qualify as a release the angler must fight the fish until the swivel or leader touches the rod tip or the mate has touched the leader. If the leader breaks or if the fish gets off the hook while in control of the leader, the fish  still qualifies as a release. 

Each Captain or designated associate member is responsible for weighing and certifying the boats catch. All fish caught must be weighed on a board approved certified scale unless otherwise stated. Entries must be submitted in the NEFMA BOTY app within 24 hours of the catch. 

Photo/Video is encouraged, but not required to receive Year End Tournament Points for released Billfish.

TOURNAMENT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP: This Award is based on bonus points accumulated during NEFMA Organized Tournaments. The Tournament Series Championship is based entirely on the accumulated bonus points listed below according to the participants' final standing in each tournament. 

Club Tournaments: The point system listed below in Section 10., C, will be used to determine order of finish in the Club tournaments for TSC, unless specific Club tournament rules apply. 

Bluewater Tournament: The Bluewater point system will be used to determine the order of finish for the Bluewater Tournament. 

NEFMA boats finishing in the Top 10 of each tournament will be awarded the following points: 1st - 501, 2nd - 300, 3rd - 200, 4th - 150, 5th - 125, 6th - 100, 7th - 80, 8th - 60, 9th - 40, and 10th - 20. 

The order of finish of only Club boats will be awarded points the same as listed above. 

These points only count towards the Tournament Series Championship and have no impact to any other awards. 

In the case of a tie at the end of the tournament year, the winner will be determined by whoever placed higher in the earliest tournament. 

 ANGLER-OF-THE-YEAR: Year-end awards will be given to the top angler who accumulates the most points in each of the following categories:

Billfish Angler of the Year 


Gamefish Angler of the Year 


Billfish Lady Angler of the Year 


Gamefish Lady Angler of the Year 


Billfish Junior Angler of the Year (Ages 13 to 18) 


Gamefish Junior Angler of the Year (Ages 13 to 18) 


Billfish Junior Angler of the Year (Ages 12 and Under) 


Gamefish Junior Angler of the Year (Ages 12 and Under) 


Angler Points will be awarded in accordance with the Billfish Boat of the Year and Gamefish Boat of the Year sections listed above. To qualify, the anglers must be either a General or Associate Member when the fish is caught. For the purpose of this award, spouses, children and grandchildren who are 18 years and younger are considered Associate Members. Children or grandchildren who have their 19th Birthday during the fishing year will NOT be disqualified. 

MISCELLANEOUS: 

Protests: All protests must be made in writing within 72 hours of discovery of the 
interpretation will be final. 

Only active dues paid members will be considered for space on the Marlin Docks. Berths are allotted on a first come basis. Existing members have precedence over new members. 

Children and Grandchildren of General Members age 19 or older at the start of the fishing year must become an Associate Member to be eligible for year-end Awards. 

Treble hooks may be used in combination with natural bait when targeting Kingfish. Any other fish taken with this combination shall be disqualified.