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South Jersey Shark Tournament

June 6 - June 9, 2018

Tournament Rules

  1. TIMES & BOUNDARIES

  2. 1. All boats must sail from and return to Cape May Inlet.
  3. 2. Boats are not permitted to clear the Cape May Sea Buoy prior to 6:00 AM.
  4. 3. Fishing begins at 8:30 AM. No lines, chum, or bait of any kind may be put into the water until starting time is announced by a Committee Boat.
  5. 4. Fishing ends at 3:30 PM on each scheduled fishing day. Any fish hooked prior to the deadline may be played until boated or released, provided that said fish is announced hooked on the tournament channel before the deadline.
  6. 5. Boundaries for the tournament will be 60 nautical miles from the Cape May Sea Buoy.
  7. 6. Weigh-in begins at 2:30 PM. All eligible fish must be available for weigh-in at South Jersey Marina by 7:30 PM aboard the boat on which they were caught.
  8. 7. Each boat must pick one NON-FISHING DAY by submitting the official Lay Day Form prior to 11:00 AM on the day selected. Said forms must be physically delivered by a member of the boat’s crew to the dockmaster’s office at South Jersey Marina or Canyon Club Resort Marina. The boat must be dockside when the lay day is declared. Any boat not submitting the proper form by the 11:00 AM deadline will be automatically assumed to be fishing on that day. Boats may not fish on a lay day unless all of their available fish days have been used. Boats with mechanical problems or other emergencies may use lay days to arrive late to the tournament so long as it is with the advance permission of the Tournament Directors and they conform with all other rules.
  9. ANGLING/FISHING

  10. 8. Participants shall comply with I.G.F.A. equipment and angling rules with the following exceptions: A) A fish may be hooked by someone other than the angler provided the rod is immediately transferred to the angler after hook-up. From that time on, the angler must fight the fish alone until boated or released. B) No harpoons, dart gaffs or greensticks. C) Fish may be dispatched by gun or bangstick after they have been wired. The Tourna- ment Directors retain sole authority for interpreting and implementing the I.G.F.A.’s rules. (The use of mammal blood or flesh is prohibited.)
  11. 9. No more than 5 lines may be fished from any boat, regardless of number of anglers.
  12. 10. All fish boated or released must be reported to a committee boat at the time of the catch.
  13. 11. Moves during the day should be accomplished with care for established slicks. Boats passing through competitors’ slicks within 300 yards may be subject to disqualification.
  14. 12. For release purposes, a fish will be considered caught when the mate grabs the leader or the swivel touches the tip of the rod.
  15. 13. There are 3 available fishing days for the tournament. Fishing days for boats entered will be any 2 of the available 3 days, captains’ choice; no weather committee. The crew members of each individual boat will be solely responsible for the decision as to which days to fish.
  16. 14. Anglers may not switch to another boat nor can anyone from another boat come aboard to assist in fighting or boating a fish.
  17. SCORING/PRIZES

  18. 15. Only one day need be fished for the tournament to be considered official & prizes to be awarded.
  19. 16. Fractional weights will be rounded to the nearest pound.
  20. 17. For release points to count, boats must be dockside by the weigh-in dead- line and submit a Daily Catch Report by 7:30 PM.
  21. 18. In the event of a tie in the point categories, the winner shall be the first boat reaching the winning point accumulation.
  22. 19. In the event of a tie in the cash prize categories, the prize money will be equally divided between those tying.
  23. 20. In the event that all places are not filled the unwon prize money will be proportionally divided among the winners of that prize. In the event that any Tournament Prize category is not won at all, that prize money will be equally divided among the winners of the other categories with the excep- tion of the prize money for daily heaviest Mako.
  24. 21. In the event that no qualifying Mako is caught on a particular day, the tour- nament prize money for Daily Heaviest Mako will be equally divided among the Daily Heaviest Mako winners on the remaining days. If there are no qualifying makos caught, the tournament prize money for Daily Heaviest Mako will go to heaviest shark.
  25. 22. For the purpose of identification, a Porbeagle will be considered a Mako.
  26. 23. In order to be eligible for awards, prizes, and calcuttas, fish must be caught in compliance with all tournament rules. Said rules includes conformance to state and federal size limits, circle hook requirements and possession of a current NMFS angling, general or charter/headboat category HMS permit, with any applicable endorsement.
  27. 24. All fish eligible for cash prizes may be subject to examination by the Tournament Directors, consulting biologists and/or Torrymeter, should there be any question as to the “freshness” of the catch. It shall be the responsibility of the participant to keep all eligible catches in suitable and proper condition until weigh-in. In the event of any disputes arising from such examination, the decision of the Tournament Directors shall be final. Polygraph examination may be required of winning crews.
  28. ADMINISTRATION

  29. 25. The designated tournament VHF radio channels are 69 (Primary) and 71 (Alternate)
  30. 26. Registration is by boat rather than by angler. Tournament Directors reserve the right to decline entry of any boat or crew.
  31. 27. The Tournament Directors and hosting facilities assume no liability or responsibility for any damage or loss.
  32. 28. In the event of a boat disability, contestants may transfer to another boat, not entered in the tournament, and may fish in the name of the original, with the prior approval of the Tournament Directors.
  33. 29. Allegations of violations of any of the above rules may be submitted only by an official tournament registrant and must be submitted in writing on the day of the alleged infraction. In the event of such an allegation, the Tourna- ment Directors will have the sole and exclusive responsibility to investigate the alleged incident and to rule as to whether any violation materially aided the angler, crew, or vessel, or otherwise affected the outcome of the tournament. Any subsequent penalty will be solely at the discretion of the Tournament Directors and shall be final. In all cases, registrant and their crews agree to be bound by the ruling of the Tournament Directors.