The Barbados International Fishing Tournament is one of the premier fishing events in the Southern Caribbean, and attracts participants from across the region and internationally each year for five days of fun and competition. To describe it as fishing Tournament may be to do it an injustice, as it is truly more than that, since the emphasis in recent years has been on making everyone a winner. The 2011 tournament will again be staged at Port St. Charles, St. Peter, and continues to go from strength to strength with visiting friends, anglers and their families from places such as Antigua, Grenada, Guadeloupe, England, Italy, Martinique, Jamaica, Scotland, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States of America. The Tournament is certified as a qualifying event for the annual IGFA (International Game Fishing Association) Offshore World Championships, and also forms part of the Southern Caribbean Billfish Circuit. 

The 2011 Barbados International Fishing tournament is expected to continue to be a big success, and previous years have seen an average of 35 boats and 225 anglers participating, with some spectacular catches being recorded as the teams revel in the magnificent conditions. Prior years averaged 40 Billfish caught and released, of which the majority (30-35) are Blue Marlin, and then a few Sailfish, White Marlin and Spearfish to keep things interesting, along with scores of Wahoo and Dolphin landed that help the drive to assist the needy children of the island. Minimum weights ensure that most marlin are released, and whereas none were brought to scale last year, 2008 saw the record 507 lb Blue Marlin being landed by Barbadian angler Frank Armstrong on Challenge II with James Peirce at the helm which narrowly broke the 31 year old club record of 505 lbs and landed them a whopping $50,000.00 for breaking the record.

There are also scores of Dolphin and Wahoo landed which mostly go to local orphan’s homes and charities, as well as keep the anglers well fed during the Tournament. Sponsored mainly by Mount Gay Rum, Sagicor Life, Digicel and Williams Industries, the tournament attracts teams from around the Southern Caribbean Billfish Circuit as well as internationally, and owes a great debt to all its sponsors. Next year will be the 22nd Anniversary of the tournament, but the Barbados Game Fishing Association’s has been around for 50 years holding mostly local events prior to opening things up to international participation. You can check out the BGFA and the tournament at http://barbadosgamefishing.com/about. Apart from the fishing, there is much dockside activity after fishing to help liven the event, and each evening after fishing sees hundreds of people gathered to witness the boats arriving with their catch (an of course their tall tales about the proverbial “one that got away”), as well as to join in the festivities. In this regard, evenings at Port St. Charles involved activities such as cocktail parties, a fashion show, wine-tasting, live band, music, happy hour drinks, pig-roast and fish fry to name a few. Our local heroine and choice charity Dame ‘Auntie’ Olga Lopes-Seale attends on evenings with some of her needy children from homes that she supports, and they are given fish that is donated by boats and the Association to take back with them for use at the homes. In this regard several hundred pounds of fish are sent towards a good cause.

Sportsfishing has made remarkable strides in the USA and around the world in rebuilding and enhancing fisheries and the marine environment worldwide, while at the same time providing for enjoyment of terrestrial species such as the fishermen themselves. This union has resulted in a huge following with the latest survey in the USA confirming that there are twice as many Sportsfishermen (40 million) as Golfers, and even more than Golfers (24.4 million) and Tennis players (10.4 million) combined! With a combined economic output in the USA alone of $125 Billion, the economics of Sportsfishing make it a remarkable case study on the marriage of man and the environment. When you combine all of this with some great dockside fun and frolic on a Caribbean Island, well then as they say “the rest is history”!

James Peirce BGFA Committee -11th of Feb 2011