The Fish With A Mission: Tuna Pro Open does not have a weather committee. Each Captain is responsible for decisions made due to weather. Decisions to fish or not to fish will be at the discretion of the captain and participants. FISH AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Heaviest Fish – length per federal Bluefin Tuna regulations: Please check updated regulations on the NMFS website (https://hmspermits.noaa.gov). All tunas qualifying for the must be brought to the official Fish With A Mission: Tuna Pro Open weigh-in station at Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative in Seabrook, NH. Tunas will be weighed in by the weigh master. The weigh master or a tournament member accompanying the weigh master will record the weight.

Our weighmaster will be available to answer any questions on Saturday evening at the Captain’s Meeting. For these rules, these definitions apply:

• Weighmaster – The official weighmaster, or her designated assistant.

  1. Field dressed – Tuna with one gill plate and all gills removed, and all viscera, including both gonads, removed.

  2. Delay – Any aberration in the preparation of a tuna being presented for weighing, which will, in the opinion of the weighmaster, hamper another vessel from presenting his fish.

  3. The weigh master shall inspect each fish upon arrival for adherence to the field dressing requirement. She will assist each vessel as necessary to insure uniformity but will not delay other boats from weighing their fish. If the fish at the time of weigh-in is not prepared in accordance with the definitions above, the tournament reserves the right to send the boat away from the weigh-in until the fish is properly prepared.

  4. It shall be the responsibility of the boat to notify their dealer of arrival time, and in the event a dealer is delayed, the fish will be put back on the boat until dealer arrival, or the boat may then bring the fish to the dealers wharf.

  5. The decision of the weigh master in adequacy of preparation, weight of fish, and adherence to these rules is final, subject to the appellate process of the tournament rules.

  6. After the weigh master releases the fish, any disposal must be done outside the harbor.

  7. The decision of the weigh master is final and cannot be appealed.

All boats must have the ability to fish without any outside help. No transfer of landed fish to another boat regardless of the situation. The boat that caught the fish must bring the fish to the weigh-in station.

All boats can leave from any port.

The tournament VHF channel will be Channel 69. All Bridge Channels are 13. (Hampton River Bridge)

FISHING DAYS/HOURS: No Tuna gear can be in the water prior to 12:01 Am on Monday July 29th Per FEDERAL REGULATIONS. Overnight fishing is permitted per federal and state regulations.

• LINES IN – No boats are permitted to put TUNA FISHING gear (lines and hooks) in the water until 12:00 AM MONDAY, JULY 29TH per NMFS Regulations.

  1. BOATS ARE REQUIRED to fully document with video the “LINES IN” rule with proof of time (Digital Stamp, GPS time, etc)

  2. NMFS rules state “one fish per day per boat.” If a boat weighs a fish on July 29TH in accordance with the rules herein, that boat is not permitted to have TUNA FISHING lines in until 12AM, July 30TH. Boat must fully document with video the “LINES IN” rule with proof of time (Digital Stamp, GPS time, etc).

  3. FISH WITH A MISSION: TUNA PRO OPEN is a registered NMFS tournament and there will be representation from federal officials on site throughout the tournament.

FISH LANDING – Once a fish is landed, the boat is required to provide video with proof of time (Digital Stamp, GPS time, etc) of ONE FISH in possession.

Weigh In: The Weigh-In station is open from….

- JULY 29TH, 2024 – 3:00pm – 7:00pm (NOTE: See QUALIFYING FISH)
- JULY 31ST, 2024 – 3:00pm – 7:00pm (NOTE: See QUALIFYING FISH)
- AUGUST 1ST, 2024 – 3:00pm – 7:00pm (NOTE: See QUALIFYING FISH)
- ONLY ONE (1) QUALIFYING BFT per boat will be weighed each day
- IMPORTANT: UPON LANDING A FISH – That boat should make all attempts to radio on tournament channel upon landing a fish and receive confirmation from any tournament boat. That boat (or surrounding tournament boats) should notify via phone or tournament channel the tournament committee (whichever is feasible).
- ALL BOATS returning to weigh in a qualifying fish must check in and receive confirmation by tournament channel (69);

Scale times: Tournament committee and weigh master; as a courtesy; will extend scale hours to 9pm on Monday July 29th and Wednesday July 31st ONLY under the following conditions.

1. Tournament committee is notified by 7pm and video evidence is provided showing:
A. Fish is landed and subdued on deck or tied off to vessel.
B. Length of fish makes it potentially eligible to surpass any current fish weighed.
C. Vessel has the capability of reaching scale by 9pm.
***A fish NOT FULLY landed and reported by 7pm on Monday or Wednesday makes it ineligible for that days weigh in***

2. Thursday scale times will not be extended under any circumstances.

Official tournament time is local GPS time.

All boats entering or leaving the harbor and river should adhere to the “NO WAKE” speed limit. The tournament takes no responsibility for any waterway violations.

• BOUNDARIES: It is the responsibility of the boat to meet the weigh-in deadline.

• All boats must meet U.S. Coast Guard Requirements and are the sole responsibility of the boat owner.

• This is a rod and reel tournament. No airplanes or other fishing gear will be permitted for this tournament. Any means of obtaining bait (live or dead) are permitted. Anglers may fight the fish from a rod holder and cockpit harpoons are allowed. No electric reels or harpoons are permitted.

• All fish weighed in for prize eligibility must be caught from a registered boat. This is a boat tournament and in the event of mechanical failure, PRIOR TO START OF TOURNAMENT, Captain and Crew may request that they fish an alternative boat, but the tournament committee MUST approve the boat change.

• PROTESTS: All protests must be in writing within 48hrs after the close of final weigh in time, August 1st. Protests require a $1,000 fee submitted to the Tournament Committee. If the protest is upheld, the $1,000 fee will be refunded.

• Anglers and crew aboard winning boats will be subject to a lie detector test.

• Boats should always respect fellow competitors.

• All participants and their crews, friends, and family shall be respectful of the tournament hosts, i.e. Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative, as well as their staff.

• The rules of the tournament are absolute and any changes to these rules will be provided to the captain of each boat prior to the Captain’s Meeting. Once the tournament starts, all boats will abide by the tournament rules.

Any breach of any of the above Tournament Rules may result in disqualification for current and future tournaments.

Decisions of the Tournament Committee are final.