Welcome to SPORTING TRADITIONS
As we close the books on 2011, it’s interesting to take a look back and see how much we’ve accomplished in such a relatively short period of time.
The Presidential Challenge tour- nament series was the first in the world to require the use of circle hooks as mandatory gear, a move that many cited as counter-productive to releas- ing large numbers of billfish. Today, the use of circle hooks is required by most every billfish tournament in the world, hav- ing been scientifically proven to reduce post-catch mortality of billfish species. They’re as com- mon as ballyhoo in most parts of the world, although there’s still much work to be done.
One of those areas is Africa. The Dark Continent lags behind the rest of the de- veloping world in terms of catch and re- lease, the use of circle hooks and also in the tagging of billfish species. To that end, the Presidential Challenge is developing a working relationship with the burgeoning African Billfish Foundation group—our in- tention is to work hand-in-hand with these hardworking individuals to spread the word about sportfishing tourism, just as we have done for the past fifteen years in Central America and the Caribbean. Once these people realize that healthy billfish stocks can generate ten to twenty times their market worth in terms of tourism dol- lars, the transition to tag and release becomes much easier. We’ll be supplying the African Bill- fish Foundation with TBF tags, tagging sticks, circle hooks and rigging videos in the coming months, in addition to our other plans for outreach and education. Read more about the African Billfish Foundation on pages 10 and 11.
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In 2011, we were also able to complete Phase II of the Adopt-A-Billfish white mar- lin tagging program. Working closely with Dr. Eric Prince from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the pro- gram was able to tag two different groups of white marlin in nearly simultaneous time: one off the Carolina coast and the other in the Southern Caribbean off Aruba. Using PSAT satellite tags, Dr. Prince antici- pates being able to collect valuable scien- tific data that’s been heretofore unknown about white marlin, including possible migrating and spawning aggre- gations and much more. The Adopt-A-Billfish program is one of the recipients of the funds raised throughout the year by the Presidential Challenge tournament series.
Another recipient of those funds is The Billfish Founda- tion, the world’s leader in billfish tagging. In 2011, the Presidential
Challenge tournament series raised over $26,000 for TBF’s vitally important conser- vation work on billfish species around the world. This money goes where “the rubber
meets the road,” directly funding conser- vation projects in the nations that need the help the most: Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and others. We’re fortunate to have TBF representatives at each of the PCCA tour- naments in 2011, where they had the op- portunity to interact with the anglers, give presentations and much more.
The past year also saw the kickoff of a brand new Presidential Challenge event: the Presidential Papagayo Cup. This tour- nament, held in mid-summer in northern Costa Rica, is a departure from the usual PCCA events. A slightly higher entry fee and optional jackpots gives the partici- pants the opportunity to fish for a sizeable cash purse in addition to the usual trophies and prizes offered in our series. In addi- tion, there’s the Papagayo Cup Perpetual Trophy that’s awarded to the team with the highest point total between the PCCA Costa Rica and Papagayo Cup tournaments. We expect this event to grow in popularity over the years and hope that you’ll take a serious look at fishing this one.
The past twelve months marked a year of rebuilding throughout the marine in- dustry, including the tournaments around the world. However, the Presidential Chal- lenge series is stronger than ever as we move forward into 2012, with continued support from not only industry sponsors but also the tourism agencies in our vari- ous host nations. We would like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you and your team to come fish with us in 2012: the world’s best destinations, great fish- ing, outstanding parties and camaraderie and much more. Take a look at the sched- ule and let us know if we can help along the way.
Good luck and tight lines in 2012,
Joan Vernon Sporting Traditions: The Magazine · 2011 Edition ·
PresChallenge.com
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