2nd Annual Montauk Catch & Release Shark's Eye Tournament

Montauk’s only satellite tag, catch-and-release, high stakes, big game sport fishing competition, the Shark’s Eye Tournament and Festival, returns July 11 to 13. The tournament combines cutting-edge science, conservation and a high stakes angling competition to bring an informative and entertaining spectacle focused on saving sharks to the public at the Montauk Marine Basin.

The festival will be open to the public from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday and from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday. It features event sponsors, vendors and live music by Brian Neal, as well as unique attractions, interactive demonstrations and lots of delicious food and beverages, all on the waterfront, for the entire weekend. On Saturday night, until 10 p.m., there will be a party featuring a live performance by Gus Fafalios and Deep C Revival.

This year’s tournament marks the second year that the anglers will forego the controversial pastime of killing sharks which has contributed to a decline of 80 to 90 percent in the shark population according to Sean Paxton, one of the tournament organizers.

In 2013, teams tagged and released 64 sharks including 33 mako and 31 blues. Four of the sharks were satellite tagged. One of the sharks tagged was seven feet long and weighed more than 200 pounds.

Six of the sharks will be tracked by sophisticated satellite tags provided by this year by OCEARCH. Austin Marxe, one of the founding members of the shark tournament has already ponied up $10,000, which will go into the prize fund for the tournament. In return Marxe will get to name one of the six sharks being tracked. He has already announced that he plans to name his shark after his granddaughter, Isabella.

Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter and businessman, has signed on for the tournament for the second year. He plans to fish off his yacht named “The Last Mango”. Buffett, who fished the inaugural event said, "Such tournaments are the wave of the future".

World renowned marine artist and conservationist and founder of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey was one of the organizers of the inaugural event, and will be supporting the tournament and festival again this year with $10,000 contribution towards the prize purse and signed, limited edition Guy Harvey prints for the lucky winners.

“There is no other fishing tournament like Shark’s Eye,” said Guy Harvey. “This tournament combines the thrill of shark fishing, practical conservation measures, and meaningful fisheries research and community involvement into a single event. It is truly the future of shark fishing tournaments.”

There are still a few available slots for competitors in this year’s tournament. The entry fee is $950. All the entry fees will go to the prize fund. The tournament is presented by the Paxton Brothers, LandShark Lager, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and Dan’s Papers. For more information visit the Shark’s Eye All-Release, Satellite-Tag Tournament & Festival website at http://www.sharkseyetournament.com/