It started out as a beautiful day for fishing, but by the end of the day the clouds rolled in and the rains came down, but this did not dampen the spirits of the fishermen on the 18 boats that entered the Wahoo Challenge this past weekend.
At the end of the day it was Captain Ivan Staines who brought in the winning fish on board the Catch of the Day. Rounding out the top were captains Adrian Heuser on the Get Some and Areli Marin on the Excalibur.
Organizer of the event, Alvaro Guerrero told Ambergris Today that the Wahoo Challenge was very successful and garnered much attention from tourists who came to San Pedro just for the event.
“I had people calling from the United States making bookings and looking for boats in which to sign up with,” said Alvaro. “Some could not make it because we ran out of boats. The tournament was very well received and there was a lot of fish caught.”
Alvaro explained that one of the main purpose of the fishing tournament is to raise funds towards the San Pedro FAD Project. FAD stands for fish aggregating device which is an anchored buoy or platform in the open ocean that will attract and hold pelagic fish like marlin, wahoo, dorado, tuna, sharks and other fish.
It has long been known that pelagic fish will aggregate to floating objects like logs, nets and other debris. However, these objects drift around and are occasionally encountered by fishermen. These FADs which will be installed around three miles from the shore will help attract fish to the nearby surrounding areas and fishermen/tour guides can take their clients to the area and almost ensure encounters with the type of fish mentioned earlier.
“These buoys will definitely attract more fish to the area and increase sports fishing in San Pedro, something that tourist like a lot,” commented Alvaro.
These buoys are expensive to make ($8,000 to $10,000 each) and with the funds raised by the Wahoo Challenge it is expected that one will be built and anchored before the next fishing tournament on the island which should be around July for the Dia de San Pedro celebrations. Interested persons have already donated materials to facilitate the construction of the buoy. Anybody willing to assist can contact Alvaro Guerrero at 601-3865.
First Place: Catch of the Day (Captain Ivan Staines)
Two winning fish: 90lbs total
Total fish weighed: 15 at 514.5lbs total
Heaviest Wahoo: 47.5lbz
Second Place: Get Some (Captain Adrian Heusner)
Two winning fish: 79.5lbs total
Total fish weighed: 12 at 384.5lbs total
Third Place: Excalibur (Captain Areli Marin)
Winning Fish: 67.5lbs
Junior Angler: Ivan Staines Jr./15 years/ 47.5lbs wahoo
Calcutta Winner: Catch of the Day