Marty and Mitchell Firestein’s tagged blue marlin won the 2013-2014 IGMR
Satellite track of winning blue marlin for the IGFA Great Marlin Race.
Satellite tracks for the IGFA Great Marlin Race.
| The International Game Fish Association recently announced the winner of the 2013-2014 IGFA Great Marlin Race (IGMR) as the third year of the event has come to a close. After eight successful tagging events around the world from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014, data from 60 tags revealed that black, blue, and white marlin swam a combined, linear distance of 26,312 nautical miles (nm) and a total estimated distance of 146,476 nm!In the IGMR, winners of each event are determined by the longest, linear distance a billfish swims from the point the tag is deployed to the point the tag pops up, and the overall winner is the sponsor of the marlin whose tag travels the farthest of all events in an entire race year. This year Marty and Mitchell Firestein of the Balboa Angling Club were crowned champions for their winning blue marlin that swam a linear distance of 2,883 nautical miles (nm) and an estimated total distance of 12,594 nm, almost reaching the Pitcairn Islands from Kona!During the 54th Annual Hawaiin International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) on August 9, 2013, Marty placed the winning tag on a 113 kg (250 lb) Pacific blue marlin caught by Mitchell aboard _Hooked Up. _After reaching the full deployment duration of 180 days, the tag surfaced on February 5, 2014. The total distance traveled by their blue marlin is the second longest distance recorded by any billfish in the history of the IGMR.Marty and Mitchell will be recognized by the IGFA at the 31st Annual IGFA International Auction & Banquet on January 30, 2015 in Fort Lauderdale, FL for their great accomplishment and for their steadfast devotion to the conservation of billfish and our sport. |
