Big Blue! Notable Catch at White Marlin Open

Type: Ocean
Region: Eastern
Location: Ocean City

For the last several years biologists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Fisheries Program, have been monitoring incoming catches of marlin and tuna and collect catch cards at the Annual White Marlin Open weigh-in in Ocean City, MD, one of the largest offshore fishing tournaments in the world.

This year, 2018, the 45th Annual White Marlin Open started in the early morning hours of Monday, August 6, and will continue through August 10. The fishing stops at 3:30 PM each day, and most boats are from 2 to 4 hours offshore, so the heaviest weigh-in activity typically occurs between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. The exception to that schedule can occur when a boat catches a big fish early in the fishing day that may move the leaderboard or take over a species division. On Monday 8/6, the boat "Auspicious", based out of Palm Beach, FL came back to Ocean City Inlet relatively early in the afternoon, flying a blue marlin flag. Angler Joe Rahman, on "Auspicious", had boated a blue marlin weighing 881 pounds on the official dockside scale, the 6th largest blue marlin in the 45-year tournament history. For this year�s 2018 Open, Joe�s fish jumped into first place and is currently holding the $700,000 first place money.

The department encourages catch and release for marlin when possible. However, in this case, the meat from this catch will be donated to local food banks, and biological samples were collected for scientific study, including otoliths (earstones, for aging), stomach contents, and parasites. .

Maryland Coastal Fisheries Program Manager, Angel Willey, captured this photo of the impressive blue marlin and happy anglers and crew.