The Virgin Islands boasts internationally renowned fishing waters, but the territory’s sport fishing charters have long taken a backseat to boats from the United States VI that acquire permits to fish here, according to one local captain.
Some residents, however, are working to change that.
Krystino Vialva, a captain for the VI-based operation of Ocean Surfari Charters, points to two upcoming marlin tournaments and a streamlined permit process as evidence that sport fishing is on the rise at home.
Mr. Vialva, who also serves as public relations coordinator for the BVI Sport Fishing Association, is eager to get the word out about the first annual Virgin Gorda International Marlin Tournament, which starts on Aug. 21.
“Our mission is to make sport fishing a bigger industry in the BVI, especially during the summertime, when business is a little slow for most,” he said. “We wanted to bring more sport fishing boats to the territory during that time.”
VG tourney
Co-organised with Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, the BVIFSA tournament will last three days. Registration takes place on Saturday, Aug. 20, and the boat entry fee is $800.
The event is catch-and-release — competitors are required to provide photographic evidence for each marlin caught, but weight does not matter — and prizes go to the boats with the first-, second- and third-highest number of marlin at the end of the three days. Prize money will be determined by the number of entrants.
While the tournament is primarily a marlin competition, it will also offer prizes for “fun fish” catches, according to Mr. Vialva. These prizes — which are not based on catch-and-release — include biggest catch for wahoo, tuna, mahi-mahi and kingfish.
Other marlin prizes include “best angler” and “boat of the day” for the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of fishing.
Mr. Vialva, a Trinidad native who has lived in the territory for 11 years, said he hopes some 20 boats will enter, from a range of places including the USVI, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, Anguilla, Guadeloupe and potentially the mainland US.
Scrub tourney
The captain explained that the VG tournament is designed to fit in the schedule of boats travelling through the region for the season’s marlin tournament circuit, including another first-time VI event, the Scrub Island Blue Marlin Invitational.
Established by well-known tournament organiser Frank “Skip” Smith, the competition will take place Monday through Wednesday. Federico Ciampi, general manager of Scrub Island Resort, said the idea is for the tournament to become an annual event.
Like the VG event, it will also offer “fun fish” prizes for the biggest tuna, wahoo and mahi-mahi catches.
Registration for the competition is on Sunday, and entry documentation can be acquired via a request on Mr. Smith’s website. Fifteen boats have already signed up, and there is space for five more, according to Mr. Ciampi. It costs $4,000 per boat to enter, and the winner will take home $7,000.
The Scrub Island event also coincides with the USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament next Monday through Friday, which drew nine boats last year.
Mr. Ciampi said he is planning to draw several of the boats that would normally attend the USVI competition. Mr. Smith’s tournaments typically pull boats from the US and Puerto Rico that might not otherwise make it to a VI competition, he added.
Mr. Vialva said he hopes entrants from both competitions will flock to the BVISFA tournament the following week.
Mr. Ciampi spoke similarly.
“If our tournament is drawing captains to theirs, then it’s a success,” he said.
VI sport fishing
The BVISFA was founded in 2014 as a non-profit organisation designed to promote sport fishing throughout the territory.
According to Mr. Vialva, the organisation is also working with the Conservation and Fisheries Department to streamline the process for acquiring a sport fishing permit, especially by publicising the information on how to properly get one.
“There’s a huge myth that it’s impossible to get fishing permits here in the BVI, and that it is extremely difficult and Conservation and Fisheries are not very helpful,” he said. “When you go in there, you ask for an application, you fill the application out. You pay your money; you get your fishing permit. It’s just that simple.”
Typically, acquiring a permit for recreational sport fishing in the territory takes about an hour, Mr. Vialva said. However, someone looking to open a sport fishing company should expect a wait time of about three to four months.
Any boats competing in either tournament, however, automatically get a permit for their respective competitions through registration.
USVI boats
Mr. Vialva explained that many USVI charter boats fish in VI waters at this time of year, often utilising the renowned North Drop area off Anegada, a premium fishing spot.
“We’re trying to capitalise on boats that are already in the territory — bring them over to the BVI,” he said. “A lot of these boat owners have their private jets and large budgets, so if we can keep the boats here at the marinas, then we’ll have a bit more of the owners coming in and out, and also the crews will be here.”
Mr. Vialva said he is not sure why the territory has lagged behind the USVI in recent years, but mentioned various possible causes, including the perceived difficulty of acquiring permits here and the fact that St. Thomas tends to be easier and cheaper to fly to, regardless of whether visitors are arriving on a commercial or private jet.
The reason he’s heard the most, however, is the CFD’s 30-pound daily catch limit for sport fishing boats, a number that could be surpassed by one medium-sized catch.
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