Saipan fishing derby draws 53 fishers

One of the most vibrant and unique festivals held on Saipan is the Marianas Trench Fishing and Seafood Festival, which was held last May 27-28, 2017, at the Garapan Fishing Base. The family-friendly festival celebrates fisheries and seafood preparations, while training the young generation about the environment and value of seafood in everyday lives.

The festival started on Friday, May 26, at the check-in, as fishing teams chose their catch method: trolling, deep bottom, hook and line (shallow bottom), spearfishing, or talaya. Fishing began promptly at 6pm that evening and carried on until Saturday evening at 6pm. The family fun fishing derby hosted 53 fishers, with 20 under the age of 15 competing for trophies and cash prizes.

Winners of the spearfishing contest largest fish was team Bantalan Boys consisting of Morita Asai, Richard Dela Cruz, Andrew Kim, and J.P. Taitano.

Second place went to Team Santa Primativa consisting of Christian Alepuyo, John Roque Alepuyo, Jesse Deleon Guererro, and Greg Sasamoto.

Third place went to Team Beginners Luck consisting of Ryuto Yanai, Ichiro Borja, Nico Lu and Jun Yamagishi.

Other teams included Super Team and Peska Dudes.

Winners of the bottom fishing contest were Team Kinosuke composed of Ricky Fitipol, Ben Fitipol, Phillip Aldan, Ito Yoshikatsu, and Ishikawa Jiko.

Second place went to Team Sweet Candy consisting of grandpa George Moses and his three grandsons: Clement I. Santos, Devin A. Kapileo, and Kenneth J. Kapileo.

Winners of the hook and line contest were Team Victoria captained by Diego Benevente with crewmembers Garrett Weaver, Tori Weaver, Gene Weaver, and head linesman Scott Shuler.

Second place went to Team Lady Anglers consisting of grandma Candelaria I. Moses and daughters and granddaughters Candy, Pat, Keisha, and Jadalynn.

Third place went to Team Kinosuke composed of Ricky Fitipol, Ben Fitipol, Phillip Aldan, Ito Yoshikatsu, and Ishikawa Jiko.

Winners of the talaya contest was Team Nana consisting of grandpa John C. Reyes with grandsons Maui and Keanu Silva.

Second place went to Team Norbert with P.J. Reyes, Norbert Camacho, and Sean Carbonneau.

No fish were turned in for the trolling contest.

All winners took home $500 and a trophy. Second placers took home $300 and a trophy and third placers went home with $200 and a trophy.

While the teams were fishing, the Garapan Fishing Base was alive as KKMP Radio joined forces with the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Service to honor Emergency Medical Technicians with a bounce house courtesy of Kanoa Resort, hotdogs, face painting, and lots of family games and toy prizes for the children, courtesy of Imperial Pacific. There were pearl shakes, food vendors, and artists. Entertainment began at noon and carried on until 6pm. At 1pm a Spam cookoff was hosted by Dickerson & Quinn. Fishing ended at 6pm and all catches were monitored and weighed by Fish & Wildlife.

No festival is complete without food, food, and more food. Sunday saw the fish festival seafood cookoff, which pitted professional chefs against amateur chefs in a tight battle for Poki, Kaleguen and Open categories. The chefs used some fantastic newly-landed fish to prepare a number of mouth-watering dishes.

The year’s festival was dedicated to the late Richard B. Seman, who was a champion for sustainable development of ocean resources and utilization of ocean waters for economic development. The festival mostly focused on developing young fishing abilities.

This festival’s sponsors were: Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Bridge Capital, Best Sunshine/Imperial Pacific, Department Of Commerce-Alcohol & Tobacco Control, Department Of Commerce-Small Business Development Center, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Commonwealth Ports Authority, NMC-CREES, Fish & Wildlife, IT&E, DPS-Boating Safety Program, DPS-Click It or Ticket, MARPAC, Marine Conservation Program, Express Financial, Docomo Pacific, Marianas Visitors Authority, Saipan Mayor’s Office, Saipan & Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation. (PR)