Mitch Traphagen photos.
According to organizer Captain Joel Brandenburg of Ana Banana Fishing Company at Little Harbor in Ruskin, the 10th annual Black Tip Shark Shootout that began with a captain’s meeting on Thursday and culminated in a modern, high-tech “weigh-in” using photos from smartphones on Saturday afternoon generated thousands of dollars for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. In addition, thanks to technology, the tournament helped to not only preserve the environment as an all-release event but also assisted Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research.
“Many marine biologists agree that Tampa Bay is not only the Black Tip Shark capital of the world but also the shark capital of the world in general,” Capt. Brandenburg said. “They say we may have the largest population of sharks and the biggest variety of sharks in the world. Over the years our tournament anglers have provided Mote Marine Center for Shark Research with skin and fin samples, whole shark studies, fluid dynamics studies and tagged all sharks over four feet and recorded their tag number, size, species, sex, condition and catch location. We are very proud of our anglers not only taking a bite out of pediatric cancer but also helping our environment,” the captain said.
Judges Phil Pegley and Tom Hanson use photographs and video from anglers’ smartphones to determine the size of the catch. The Black Tip Shark Shootout was an all-release event that also provided information to Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research.
Judges Phil Pegley and Tom Hanson used photos anglers had taken of their catches to determine the size of the sharks. The winners:
Adult Division:
1st place — Captain James Brown
2nd place — Randy Tyson
3rd place — Phil Pegley
Youth Division:
1st place — KJ Foshee
2nd place — Joseph Brandenburg
3rd place — Wyatt Tyson
“On behalf of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Black Tip Shark Shootout Tournament board, we want to thank all of our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, anglers, The Hogg Dawgs and our celebrity host [baseball] Hall of Famer Wade Boggs for taking a bite out of pediatric cancer,” Capt. Brandenburg continued. “A special thanks goes out to Little Harbor Resort, Sunset Grill, and especially Hooks Waterfront Bar and Grill for hosting our annual event. Hooks also hosted the Ana Banana Kids Fishing Derby a week ago, and will be hosting the 13-week Ana Banana Kids Fishing Camp this summer.”
Information about the Kids Fishing Camp is available at www.anabananakidsfishingcamp.com. Information about Ana Banana Fishing Company is available at www.anabananafishing.com.