The Puerto Escondido Fishing Club has announced that the 33rd International Sailfish Fishing Tournament, also known as “The King of Tournaments,” is ready to take place with total prizes of 2.4 million pesos (US $120,000).
Club president Levy Ramírez Estrada said in an interview that expectations are high for this year’s tournament and a large attendance is expected.
According to the official poster that is already attracting the attention of sports fishermen on social media, each team must cover a fee of 17,000 pesos, giving them the right to five lines. One thousand pesos will be charged for any additional line.
The tournament will take place from Nov. 25 to 27, part of the greater Fiestas de Noviembre in Puerto Escondido. The organizers also emphasized that the combined prize bag will be 2.4 million pesos, tax and organizing fee-free for all contestants.
Prizes will be distributed as follows: first place, 1.1 million pesos; second, 400,000 pesos; third, 200,000 pesos; fourth, 100,000 pesos; fifth 50,000 pesos; and the sixth place will receive an entry ticket for the 34th International Sailfish Fishing Tournament to be held next year.
Those that catch other species, like dorado and marlin, will also be awarded as follows; first place in dorado fishing, 50,000 pesos; second, 30,000 pesos; and third place, an entry ticket for the 2023 tournament.
For marlin, first place will receive 150,000 pesos; second, 100,000 pesos; and third, 50,000 pesos.
Furthermore, the organizers announced that the sailfish and dorado catch-and-release rules, designed to promote conservation of the species, has been updated. Teams willing to participate must cover a single 3,000-peso subscription fee, and while a winner will be determined each day, the 50,000-peso prize will be awarded at the end of the event, on November 27. Additionally, the winners will receive 85% of the collected subscription fees, with the remaining 15% going to video judges’ expenses.
Ramírez said that, unlike in the past when only a single catch-and-release winner was awarded, this time the new board of directors decided to choose one per day.
The best captain during the tourney will also be chosen, receiving a prize of 20,000 pesos.
With reports from El Imparcial, Big Fish
