2013 is S.C. Governor's Cup 25th Anniversary

2013 Blackfin tuna; Release Marine is a Gov. Cup sponsor

May edition cover hails Gov. Cup

The South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series is an official program of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The brainchild of former South Carolina Governor Carroll A. Campbell, the annual summer series consists of five privately run billfish tournaments. In 2012 the Series set a new record with 300 billfish releases, and a fleet of sportfishers are ready to fish the 25th season hoping to swamp that benchmark. Governor Campbell was extremely passionate about offshore fishing, and his family kept a second home on the S.C. coast at Murrell’s Inlet. The nearby port of Georgetown served as home base for their 35-foot Bertram, the Second Lady. “Our mother, Iris Campbell was the first lady of S.C.,” said Carroll Campbell III. “The very first Governor’s Cup tourney was fished out of Georgetown, but they already had a long established blue marlin tournament. But size limits on blue marlin were practically unheard of and people were killing billfish, even if it was only good for second or third place. My father’s idea was to try and replenish the billfish stocks with the new format of awarding points for each billfish release. If you consider the total number of billfish releases now off of S.C. each year, the success percentage is way up.” Wallace Jenkins is the senior biologist and Program Coordinator for the S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. Amy Dukes is the Tournament Director for the billfish series. “This summer we will be celebrating, because 25 years ago Governor Campbell’s vision for billfish conservation became a reality,” said Dukes. “Offshore anglers, marine biologists and the citizens of South Carolina are all grateful for his efforts.” The 2013 schedule begins with the 46th Annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament from May 22 – 25. The Bohicket Marina Invitational on John’s Island runs from June 5 – 8. The Carolina Billfish Classic fishes June 19 – 22, and the Megadock Billfishing Tournament runs July 10 – 13. Finally, the Edisto Island Marina Billfish Tournament from July 24 – 27 will complete the competition.

To view my feature article in the May edition of All At Sea click here.

To view past stories in All At Sea click here.