The Tournament will be fished according to the IGFA Rules & Regulations as well as to the Tournament RELEASE PROCEDURES. The tournament organizing committee reserves the right of changing the starting and finishing times according to the tides and for any other necessary reason.
1. BOAT AND EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATIONS
The minimum recommended length of a participating Boat is 20 Feet with Two engines (Two engines means either twin engines or one main engine with one spare engine for security). The boat must be equipped with a VHF radio, two cell phones and all safety equipment as per pleasure craft act (under Mauritius jurisdictions). The maximum line test allowed is 130 lbs. IGFA Class. No extra points will be awarded for the use lighter line category. Only rods and reels will be used. Dead baits and artificial lures may be used, live bait must be caught during the fishing hours of the day. The use of non-offset circle hooks for fishing live/dead bait is compulsory.
2. QUALIFYING FISH & POINTS
Released -Qualifying Fish
Blue, Black or Striped Marlin 1000 points
Sailfish 400 points
Shark 250 Points
Spearfish 200 points
Boated Fish
Tuna, Dorado, Wahoo (min 15 lbs) and maximum of 2 fish per species per day 1 point per lb
Any of the following dead fish: Blue, Black, Striped MArlin, Sailfish & Spearfish 1 point per lb
Released Bonus & Scheme
First released Marlin of each day 100 points
Second released Marlin of each day 70 Points
Third released Marlin of each day 50 points
Two or more Marlins released each day 200 points
200 points penalty will apply to any dead billfish (Blue,Black, Striped Marlin, Sailfish & Spearfish).
A boated shark will not be eligible for points.
A mutilated fish will not qualify.
3. TIES
If one or more teams end up with the same amount of points, the victory will be attributed to the team who reached the total points first during the Tournament
4. RELEASE RULES & PROCEDURES
A fish will be considered as released, according to the IGFA rules and the Tournament Releases Rules and procedures.
4.1 Tournament Release Rules:
Important notice: only one Angler can handle the rod after the strike and during the entire fight.
The organizing committee will consider a fish officially released when the above Important Notice has been respected plus one of the following actions completed:
A. The crew is able to grab the leader
B. The swivel hits the rod tip
C. The connection (knot, splice, etc.) between the leader and the mainline/double passes through the rod tip
4.2 Tournament Release Procedure:
A. Report the strike to the organizing committee on VHF or mobile phobe +230 57 28 78 91 by giving: the name of Boat, the fishing zone and the fish species.
B. Take a picture and a film of the angler during the fight with the bracelet of the day.
C. Record film as per release video camera requirements.
D. Report the release of the fish on VHF channel 09 or on mobile phone +230 57 28 78 91
5. RELEASE VIDEO CAMERA REQUIREMENTS
All teams must provide their own video Camera(s) and know how to operate them to verify releases.
All video recording equipment must be synchronized to the official tournament time (GMT+4) and checked in by the tournament Organizing Committee.
5.1 To score an official release, the video footage must include sufficient continuous footage to:
A. Show a team member or crew touching the leader with the bracelet of the day while the fish is still hooked.
B. Show part of the fight and full release of the healthy fish swimming away.
C. Clearly identify the species.
The video must be continuous with no breaks in recording and identify all of these elements. Do not delete any video taken during fishing hours, even if it does not include the above elements and will not be used to prove a catch.
5.2 At the end of the day’s fishing and back to the Tournament Headquarters, the Team Captain must go to the Tournament Office with the following, for validation and points attribution:
A. The score card duly filled and signed.
B. The Video camera, its connection devices with video footage mentioned in above-mentioned section 5.1 ( A,B & C).
Failure to comply to the paragraph 4 and 5 as per above-mentioned will result to disqualification of the catch.
6. THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OBSERVER
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to place an observer or any participating boat on each Tournament day.
7. FISHING EQUIPMENT
The tournament will be fished according the IGFA rules and regulations.
The organizing committee:
A. may request from the Angler the lure, line, and reel used to catch/release the fish.
B. has the right to: Investigate and act upon any incident occurring/occurred during the tournament. Disqualify any capture following examination and measurement of tackle and equipment used on the boat.
C. holds the right to examine any tackle, line and/or leaders will result in immediate disqualification from the event without refund of registration fees.
D. all decisions of the Organizing Committee are final and non-appeal able.
8. PROTESTS
Any protest should be filed in writing by the Team Captain of the protesting boat to the Organizing committee when he/she hands over his Score Card.
9. WEATHER
The Organizing Committee can change and/or cancel fishing days and/or fishing hours , in case of bad weather conditions resulting from: Cyclones including but not limited to cyclone warnings ,strong winds, tidal waves, rough seas, flooding and any other natural disaster that may occur or exceptional situations beyond our control, occurring during the Tournament period and/or prior the tournament period.
All attempts will be made to fish as many days as possible, but as little as one day of fishing or nay part thereof constitutes a complete tournament.
10. RIGHT OF ADMISSION
The Organizing Committee reserves the right of admission to the tournament. In addition, any member of the team who threatens insults or misbehave and disrespect its fellows, members of the organizing committee of any participant, will immediately be expelled from the tournament without any notice and will not be allowed to access the Tournament Headquarters.
11.FINAL DECISION
In all cases the decisions made by the Organizing Committee are irrevocable and final.
12. IMAGES AND VIDEOS
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to use all images (Photos and videos) taken and/or delivered by the anglers or any other participating team members for advertising purposes.