CEBU CITY, Philippines — The cash-rich Boaters Unlimited-Cebu Fishing Tournament draws a total of 91 anglers who will showcase patience, determination and luck in the biggest sports fishing competition in the Visayas that will be held at the plush JPark Island Resort in Lapu-Lapu City tomorrow, June 4 to 6, 2021.
The inaugural sports fishing tournament is supposed to be an international competition if not for the COVID-19 pandemic’s strict travel restrictions, according to the organizer Arnel Prete of The Barrio Projects.
However, it will still reach the international sports fishing scene after he partnered with the International Game Fish Association or IGFA in Florida to recognize their first-of-its-kind event in Cebu.
“It is not just first in Cebu but in the entire Visayas. It is not an LGU initiated but a private initiative,” said Prete. “Sports fishing is getting popular. Before, there were few of us in Dipolog, until the sport gained more interest from many and it paved the way for many provinces to hold their own tournaments.”
The sports fishing tournament will feature two categories, the boaters and non-boaters. The champions in both categories will take home a whopping P50,000 purse while the first runner-up will receive P35,000, the second runner-up gets P25,000 and P15,000 for the third runner-up plus trophies.
The 10 non-winning anglers who catch specific fish species will receive special awards and cash prizes as well.
The tournament’s mechanic is simplified, according to Prete. All the anglers need to catch is the fish with the heaviest weight regardless of the species.
The boaters category is for anglers who have their speedboats or fishing yachts, while the non-boaters are for anglers who need to rent a boat to go fishing.
“It’s not following the usual international ruling. We’ve simplified the competition which is the heaviest catch,” added Prete.
There will be two fishing areas where the competitors can fish. Area one is within the waters of Olango Island, Punta Engaño and Caubian Island. Area two is within the waters of Cordova and Caohagan Island.
Also, the tournament will have a Passport to Fishing or P2F program of the IGFA that Prete himself will conduct. The program will cover education, conservation and stewardship for responsible fishing for the participants. It will be held tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
/dbs
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