The prestigious Furuno Snapper World Cup will again be decided on fish length but hosts Electronic Navigation Ltd has greatly widened the field.
In recent times the trophy was decided at three or four key events, now an angler can submit an entry, having caught the fish anytime outside of an organised event.
ENL Managing Director Gareth Hodson says the aim is to open the event to as many anglers as possible in a way that fits in with the company’s conservation ideologies.
“The Furuno Snapper world Cup has a proud history dating back to the major multi-day event our company hosted annually, so we are keen to see as many people given the chance to get their name engraved on the trophy as possible,” Gareth says.
The Snapper World Cup will be administered through the DB Export Fishing Competition hosted by NZ Fishing Media via the website www.fishingcomp.co.nz
“They already have a database exceeding 5000 participants so that is a good start to opening up the trophy to all.”
“ENL will still be supporting a number of key tournaments that are either solely or incorporate a measure section such as the recent Trifecta Contest successfully run out of Tairua, but we felt the need to incorporate a wider audience.”
At that event Quenton Hayward set a solid pace for cup contention with a 78cm entry.
Gareth says the DB Export NZ Fishing Competition has a proven track record that is now being used by various major organisations and companies to run measure-based events and leader boards.
“What I personally like about length-based contests is that the angler has a choice as to whether or not to release the fish after it has been photographed on the official measure.
“In many contests in the past, those big fish had to all die in order to be weighed and eligible for prizes, something that is not sustainable.”
This year’s Furuno Snapper World Cup was kicked off with the Trifecta event on September 26 and will conclude on March 31. The trophy will be presented at the 2020 Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show in mid-May.
The following year the Furuno Snapper World Cup will be contested over the full 12-month period.
To further create interest, ENL is putting up $2000 worth of Furuno merchandise as well as a day’s charter with a top charter operator, hosted by ENL and NZ Fishing Media.
There is no entry fee to the DB Export NZ Fishing Competition and anglers can first catch their fish and enter after the fact.
All fish entered in the NZ Fishing Competition’s snapper section after September 26 will automatically be eligible for the trophy.
Fish must be photographed on the official measure which can be purchased from www.fishingcomp.co.nz, Furuno stockists and Burnsco stores.