Monster Shark Tournament Facts

1) Those of us who are directly involved in shark fishing are the ones that are truly concerned about maintaining and rebuilding the shark fishery stocks!

2) The National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) is responsible for managing the shark fishery in the US waters of the Northern Atlantic.

3) The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is responsible for the international management of sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.

4) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game and the Massachusetts Environmental Police are responsible for managing fisheries resources and enforcing regulations in state waters (out to approx. 3 miles).  The Monster Shark Tournament works very closely with the former in data collection and scientific research.

5) The US Coast Guard is responsible for policing the high seas beyond the state water boundaries (beyond approx. 3 miles).  The Monster Shark Tournament takes place approximately 20 - 75 miles offshore in federal waters.

6) The Monster Shark Tournament is an approved event by both the U.S. Coast Guard and the NMFS Highly Migratory Species Division.

7) Each Tournament vessel is required to be permitted by the NMFS in order to fish for, catch, and retain Atlantic sharks.

8) The Monster Shark Tournament participants have historically released over 97% of the total number of sharks that are caught during the two day fishing event.  This year we expect to achieve a 98% release rate!

9) The tournament is more of a "catch and release" tournament than it is a "catch and land" tournament.  The minimum size limits established during tournament are still informally in effect well after the tournament is over.  That means hundreds of smaller sharks that would normally have ended up on the dinner table are being released to fight another day.

10) Thresher, mako and porbeagle shark is similar to swordfish in texture and taste when grill

11) Sharks that are processed by the Boston Big Game Fishing Club are returned to their respective owner.

12) Shark fishermen don’t hate sharks, this concept is just as absurd as believing that tuna fisherman hate tuna fish.  The opposite relationship typically exists between fishermen and their target species.

13) Even the non-edible portions of the shark are converted into organic fertilizer.  Ever wonder where fish fertilizer comes from?

14) The Monster Shark Tournament has highest minimum weight standards of any landings based shark fishing tournament in the US and perhaps the world.

15) The Monster Shark Tournament was the largest shark fishing tournament in the US in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  It is now one of the most recognized sport fishing events in the world.  This is why the Animal Activists have launched their Jihad against the event, the town of Oak Bluffs and the Island of Martha’s Vineyard.

16) The tournament works very closely with the Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Apex Predators Investigation in data collection, tagging, and scientific research.

17) The Monster Shark Tournament is the largest source of catch, release, and tag data for both the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and for the NMFS Apex Predators Investigation based in Narragansett Rhode Island.

18) Approximately 2/3 of the boats that participate in the Monster Shark Tournament leave from the Oak Bluffs Marina.

19) Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Edgartown and Menemsha ports are used extensively along with ports off the Island including Nantucket, Falmouth, Cuttyhunk, Westport, and Block Island.

20) The Monster Shark Tournament is attended by over 500 anglers. The average length boat in the tournament is 37' long.

21) The tournament participants are typically males between 30 and 65 years in age although there were over a dozen female anglers in recent years and several dozen junior anglers (16 and under).  During the 2006 Monster Shark Tournament, we had our first “all female” team participating from New Jersey.

22) The Monster Shark Tournament weekend is the single busiest weekend for the businesses, restaurants, taverns, and shops of Oak Bluffs.  Estimated tournament generated revenues range from 2.5 million to 3.5 million dollars.

23) The Monster Shark Tournament brings anglers and spectators from as far away as Canada to the north and Florida in the south.  Anglers and spectators travel from California, Texas, and even Alaska to be part of the event.

24) The ESPN Monster Shark Tournament shows have been seen by millions of Viewers worldwide.  This is why the angry Vegans have hitched their wagon to the event; they are against all types of fishing and they are they attempting to use the Monster Shark as a fund raiser.

25) A 1,191 LB Tiger Shark landed in 2005 became the number one download image on Goggle for the third week of July 2005.  It was the first tiger shark landed in the tournament in over 10 years.  The tiger shark is commonly found in warm waters to our south.

26) The Monster Shark Tournament uses rules that were created by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) to promote ethical and fair angling practices.

27) Scientific research done in Massachusetts has revealed that mortality rates on released sharks is very low (over 99% survive after being caught & released).

28) The Boston Big Game Fishing Club purchased two satellite tags in 2005, two in 2006, two in 2007 and two in 2008.  These tags cost over $2,000 each and are used to collect habitat preference and migration information such as temperature and depth data.  The data collected from the tags is donated to State and Federal Fisheries Scientists. The BBGFC plans to purchase and deploy additional real-time satellite tags in the future.

29) It is the mission of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club to provide world class sport fishing events, promoting ethical and conservative fishing practices, assisting state and federal agencies in scientific research programs and to promote awareness of the fish that swim in our oceans

30) The Monster Shark Tournament is committed to a partial release and partial landing format where only the very largest and most mature fish are retained.  By taking only the largest sexually mature fish, most sharks will have had the opportunity to reproduce, thus helping to ensure a sustainable population.  The number of sharks retained during the two day event ensures that there is virtually no impact on any of the target species.  This practice supports the concept of a sustainable fishery.

31) The Monster Shark Tournament has defined minimum weight standards to help control and restrict the number of sharks landed during the tournament.  The tournament has established the highest “minimum weights” of any shark tournament in the US, well in excess of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) minimum requirements.  On average, tournament minimum weights are about four times greater than the minimum size standard set forth by the NMFS for sharks caught in the Northern Atlantic.

32) The tournament has set the minimum standards by which all other shark tournaments are measured.  In so doing, it has redefined the concepts of a trophy shark resulting in the release of hundreds of smaller sharks which might normally be landed. These stringent rules are designed to ensure that we have minimal impact on the shark population and that we preserve the world-class shark fishery here in the Northern Atlantic.

33) Sharks that are boated during the event are dissected on docks by Marine Scientists from state and federal agencies as well as private institutions and academia. During the 2006 Monster Shark Tournament, six separate scientific organizations were present at the weigh station to collect tissue samples, DNA samples, stomach content samples and a variety of other weight and size measurements.

34) During the 2005 Monster Shark Tournament, a west coast Doctor and two Japanese Scientists traveled to Oak Bluffs specifically for the purpose of collecting tissue samples of the blue shark inner ear.  Because blue sharks can regenerate their inner ear tissue, a study is underway to research this unique capability in hopes that it might some day help the hearing impaired.

35) During the 2008 Monster Shark Tournament, 202 vessels retained a total of 26 sharks after two days of fishing.  That’s means approximately 1 in every 20 boats came back with a shark each day even though almost every boat caught and released legal sized sharks each day.This is why the Monster Shark Tournament is a model for other shark tournaments the world over and why the tournament has no significant impact on local shark populations.

36)  WWW.ACTIVISTCASH.COM  reveals the Animal Extremist for their real agenda; profit seeking and to push their Vegan ideology.  When Paul Irwin (President/CEO of the Humane Society of the US) earns $510,680 annually, it’s easy to see the HSUS for what it really is, a BIG money making business!  And of course it’s non-profit, but for who?

37) In September 2009, one of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club pop-up satellite tags was deployed on a great white shark off Chatham, MA.  It was programmed to detach from its host in late January where it surfaced approximately 60 miles east of Miami. Florida.