The 28th, one and only, Monster Shark Tournament is coming to Newport this summer, July 17th – 20th. The life’s work of the late Steven James, this year the tournament will be held to honor Steve, a friend to many in the fishing community in New England and throughout the country.
Heralded by many as the Super Bowl of fishing, the event will be hosted by Steve’s family this year, and continue Steve’s mission of providing world class sport fishing events, promoting ethical and conservative fishing practices, assisting state and federal agencies in scientific research programs and promoting awareness of the fish that swim in our oceans and waters.
While the weigh-ins of the largest sharks are sure to wow the crowds, The Monster Shark tournament is more a catch and release tournament than a catch and land tournament. Its participants have historically released over 97% of the total number of sharks that are caught during the two day fishing event. In fact, Monster Shark has highest minimum weight standards of any landings- based shark fishing tournament in the US. It is committed to a partial release and partial landing format where only the largest fish are retained.
Along with the excitement which is part of the scene every year, there have been some real highlights in the past. A 1,191 LB Tiger Shark landed in 2005 became the number one download image on Goggle for the third week of July that year. It was the first tiger shark landed in the tournament in over 10 years. The tiger shark is more commonly found in warm waters to our south, so there was real excitement to see one up close.
Monster Shark brings anglers and spectators from as far away as Canada, Florida, California, Texas, and even Alaska to be part of the event. In all, the Tournament is has historically been attended by over 500 anglers with an average length boat in the tournament is 37′ long.
Participants are typically men between 30 and 65 years in age although there were over a dozen women anglers in recent years and several dozen junior anglers (16 and under). All-women teams have participated in the past and we hope they will come to Newport this summer!
Scientists and researchers are also on hand. During the 2005 Monster Shark Tournament, a west coast Doctor and two Japanese Scientists traveled to Oak Bluffs specifically for the purpose of collecting tissue samples of the blue shark inner ear. Because blue sharks can regenerate their inner ear tissue, a study is underway to research this unique capability in hopes that it might help the hearing impaired.
Sharks that are boated during the event are dissected on docks by Marine Scientists from state and federal agencies as well as private institutions and academia. During the 2006 Monster Shark Tournament, six separate scientific organizations were present at the weigh station to collect tissue samples, DNA samples, stomach content samples and a variety of other weight and size measurements
The Boston Big Game Fishing Club purchased two satellite tags in 2005, two in 2006, two in 2007 and two in 2008. These tags cost over $2,000 each and are used to collect habitat preference and migration information such as temperature and depth data. The data collected from the tags is donated to State and Federal Fisheries Scientists. The BBGFC plans to purchase and deploy additional real-time satellite tags in the future.
In September 2009, one of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club pop-up satellite tags was deployed on a great white shark off Chatham, MA. It was programmed to detach from its host in late January where it surfaced approximately 60 miles east of Miami. Florida.
Historically the tournament has generated great interest both locally and around the world. The tournament weekend was the single busiest weekend for the businesses, restaurants, taverns, and shops of Oak Bluffs, its prior home. Estimated tournament generated revenues range from 2.5 million to 3.5 million dollars, which we hope to match in Newport as folks realize that the tournament has come to town.

So wherever you are reading this story, stop and make a note on your calendar to head to Newport for the weekend of July 18 -20. There is still time to register to compete. By the way, did we mention that Barenaked Ladies is playing Saturday Night at the Newport Yachting Center – get your tickets now!
The Monster Shark Tournament uses rules that were created by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) to promote ethical and fair angling practices The tournament has set the minimum standards by which all other shark tournaments are measured. In so doing, it has redefined the concepts of a trophy shark resulting in the release of hundreds of smaller sharks which might normally be landed. These stringent rules are designed to ensure that we have minimal impact on the shark population and that we preserve the world-class shark fishery here in the Northern Atlantic. Historically The Monster Shark Tournament has been the largest source of catch, release, and tag data for both the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and for the NMFS Apex Predators Investigation based in Narragansett Rhode Island.
Coastal Angler Magazine Rhode Island is proud to be the official media partner of the Monster Shark Tournament.
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