A fishing crew was denied an eye-watering $3.5 million in prize money after their 619.4lb marlin was controversially disqualified from a tournament.
Officials of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in North Carolina disqualified a crew for what some might call a pretty harsh rule. Watch below:
The crew known as 'Sensation' thought they beat 271 other boats who had competed in this year's competition.
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When they pulled their fish out of the water, the other contestants' jaws dropped to the floor after Sensation showcased a whopping 619-pound marlin on Saturday (17 June).
In a livestream of the event posted on the official YouTube channel, the crowd goes wild when Sensation revealed their ridiculously huge catch of the day.
However, after the celebrations, the announcer said on the loudspeaker: "It would appear that this fish has been bitten by a shark."
The crew's world came crashing down when after 'careful deliberation and discussions', they were disqualified from the tournament 'due to mutilation'.
Sensation’s captain, Greg McCoy, thought they had bagged the coveted trophy.
“It’s the final hour, the final day and we fought with him for six hours,” McCoy told The Washington Post. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
The tournament officials explained their decision in a statement on Sunday: "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 619.4lb Blue Marlin is disqualified due to mutilation caused by a shark or other marine animal.
"It was deemed that the fish was mutilated before it was landed or boated and therefore it was disqualified.
"The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament follows IGFA rules regarding mutilated fish as outlined in Rule #23 in the Big Rock Official Rules.
"IGFA rules state that 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'.
"This decision is consistent with prior decisions made by the tournament in similar circumstances over the last 65 years."
The crew, known as 'SUSHI' took home first place for their 484.5lb blue marlin.
Meanwhile, 'CHASIN A' claimed second place with their 479.81b. blue marlin.
The 470.2lb blue marlin captured by C-STUDENT finished in third place.
Jeremy Duffie, a Maryland-based game fisher, said: "Sharks are prevalent now in North Carolina. It’s a really big problem.
"That’s just part of the sport, unfortunately."
Anish Vij