A group of fishermen in a North Carolina tournament missed out on a life-changing grand prize total for a very strange rule violation.
The 65th edition of the Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament was held in Morehead City, North Carolina from June 9 until Sunday the 18th. As reported by Eric Levenson and Raja Razek of CNN, a team called “Sensation” caught a massive 619.4 pound marlin that would’ve netted them a grand prize of $3.5 million.
Unfortunately for team Sensation, officials determined that the giant haul “disqualified” after determining that there was “mutilation caused by a shark or other marine animal”, per a statement published on The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament website.
In the statement, The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament cited a rule from the International Game Fish Association:
“IGFA rules state that the following situation will disqualify a fish: “Mutilation to the fish, prior to landing or boating the catch, caused by sharks, other fish, mammals, or propellers that remove or penetrate the flesh.”
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With Sensation getting disqualified, the team “SUSHI” won first place and $2.7 million in prize money after hauling in a Blue Marlin that weighed 484.5 pounds. The team “CHASIN A” was a close second with a catch that weighed in at 479.8 pounds.
The Big Rock extends its sincere appreciation to the 271 Boats that participated in the record-breaking 65th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.
That’s obviously a tough way to lose out on what would have been a ginormous payday for Sensation. It’s not as if they were trying to get away with cheating, but rather an unlucky break in which an undetermined creature attacked the marlin and thus kept the crew away from life-changing cash.
