Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, pulled the pin to kick-start the 2014 Samoa International Game Fishing Tournament.
Tuilaepa, who is also the Minister of Tourism, was among a sizable crowd at Matautu yesterday to send off the anglers for the first day of fishing.
The tournament was officially opened last Saturday.
Last Saturday, the president of S.I.G.F.A, Tuatagaloa Alfred Schwalger, welcomed the overseas anglers in Samoa for the tournament.
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There are six boats from New Zealand, two from American Samoa, with about fifteen local boats. The tournament will go on for a whole week. The open tournament continues today while Wednesday is a special day for women anglers.
Despite the rain yesterday, there were some great catches. One of them came from Francis Hansel, of the Fish Pirate Team.
He caught the fish in front of Apia using a 37kgs line.
Many other big fish were hooked and brought ashore.
For the winning team, the prize will be $15,000, second prize is $10,000, third prize is $7,500. The tournament is being run by the Samoa International Game Fishing Association (S.I.G.F.A).
The Association was established in 1996 when a group of passionate sports game fishermen initiated Samoa’s first Game Fishing International Fishing Tournament in 1996.
From its’ humble beginnings it has grown into a thriving sport which now attracts many local members and supporters from the public and private sectors, but also many visitors from aboard.
Here are some photos from the opening yesterday morning. Photos of yesterday’s catches will be published in tomorrow’s edition.
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