University of New England

UNE shark tourney raises $2,000 for United Way

In its second year, the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament, hosted by a University of New England faculty member, raised about $2,000 for the United Way of York County to help Maine families in need.

The tournament ran August 25-27. Some 100 sharks were caught during the three-day event, with all but six released, many with tags that will provide useful information about where these animals travel in the ocean.

Twenty-three teams participated in this year's tournament, and many of these teams consisted of some of the most seasoned shark fishermen in this area. There were two awards categories in this year's tournament: a blue shark category (with a minimum fork length of 8.5 feet), and a non-blue shark category (mako, thresher, or porbeagle sharks).

A 245-lb mako shark, caught by Capt. Garon Mailman and the members of his team, Sea Sea Rider, was the winning shark in this category.

A 382-lb blue shark was caught by John Tarbox and his team, Tarby's Toy. This was the winning shark in this category. Tarbox also received the trophy as the overall winner of this year's Downeast Maine Shark Tournament, as his shark was the heaviest shark caught overall.

This year's winners received approximately $900 in cash each, and a new Penn International 50 reel on a Penn International rod.

Tournament creator and coordinator was David Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology/pharmacology in UNE's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

(Press release issued Sept. 13, 2005)