MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — A fishing crew competing in the 65th Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, North Carolina was close to winning the $3.5 million prize money when they were suddenly disqualified.
After taking six hours to reel in a large 679.4-pound blue marlin, the fishing crew of a boat named Sensation practically had first place in the bag. In their near future was $2.77 million for winning the competition and $739,500 for bringing in this year’s first catch over 500 pounds, The Washington Post explains.
But instead of being named the tournament winner, there was a pause because of bite marks on the fish. This ultimately put the prize in jeopardy.
In an official statement from leaders of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, a decision was made to disqualify the team's catch.
The reason behind the disqualification came from a rule set in place about mutilated fish. Rules state the following situation will disqualify a fish: "Mutilation to the fish, prior to landing or boating the catch, caused by sharks, other fish, mammals, or propellers that remove or penetrate the flesh."
"After careful deliberation and discussions between the Big Rock Rules Committee and Board of Directors with biologists from both NC State CMAST and NC Marine Fisheries biologists as well as an IGFA official, it was determined that SENSATION'S 679.4lb Blue Marlin is disqualified due to mutilation caused by a shark or other marine animal," leaders wrote in the statement. "It was deemed that the fish was mutilated before it was landed or boated and therefore it was disqualified."
According to tournament leaders, the decision is consistent with past ones made in the tournament over the last 65 years.
Greg McCoy, Sensation's captain, said his team didn't cheat, according to The Washington Post. He reportedly thought his team hooked a winner.
“It’s the final hour, the final day and we fought with him for six hours,” McCoy told the newspaper. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
After Sensation was disqualified, the fishing crew of Sushi was declared the winner of the 65th Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament for their 484.5-pound catch.
Chasin A's crew claimed second place with their 479.8-pound blue marlin. Third place was C-Student with a 470.2-pound catch.
"The Big Rock extends its sincere appreciation to the 271 boats that participated in the record-breaking 65th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament," leaders wrote in the statement.
