Tasi to Table members get fishing rods and supplies

Tasi to Table board members, instructors, and student members come together for a photo after the donation of Daiwa fishing rods and additional fishing supplies from Fishing Tackle and Sporting Goods. (JOSHUA SANTOS)

Thanks to a donation from Fishing Tackle and Sporting Goods, Tasi to Table Inc. gave away a total of 20 rods and reels and other fishing supplies to its high school members last Saturday at the Kagman High School cafeteria.

Each club member received a high-quality Daiwa fishing rod, lines, hooks, tackle box, T-shirt, a lure-tying handbook, and sunglasses—all part of their continuing effort to master the skills of fishing.

Catherine Lam, who owns Fishing Tackle and Sporting Goods with her husband, Pierre Lam, said that making the donation was “really our pleasure.” She said the company wouldn’t have lasted 30 years so far without the support of the CNMI’s fishing and sporting community and making the donation was just their way of saying than you. “We wouldn’t be here for 30 years without your support, so we thank you very much. Enjoy and discover the joy of fishing and share that joy with others,” she said to Tasi to Table members.

Robert Hunter, who is an adviser to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, said he and the governor are “very appreciative of the work Tasi to Table does [to] bring the community closer to our ocean, closer to this important natural resource that we have.” He hopes the club members would “learn a lot and enjoy the ocean.”

Tasi to Table, formed in 2020, is an eight-month program that teaches students from different high schools on the island the basics of fishing. By participating in the program, high school students can accumulate 120 hours that go toward elective credits for graduation. It currently has 34.

Tasi to Table president Gene Weaver said that some of their young participants come from single-parent households. He sees the importance of parental engagement for these children and hopes to increase parental engagement and create incentives for parents of students to participate.

Weaver said that Tasi to Table also hopes to increase organizational reach by holding events on Tinian and Rota, beginning with a summer program on April 24 on Tinian and May 1 on Rota. Ideas to create more events, tournaments, and fishing derbies are also being talked about.

Mount Carmel School sophomore Mathew Sablan says he joined the club to “feed my family and put food on the table.” To anyone still hesitant about joining TTT, he says to “join and you will get the experience of your life.”

Marianas High School sophomore Carmelita Castro says she joined the club because her “family’s full of fishermen” and she “wanted to learn new ways how to fish.” She says that the club is a good experience that “teaches us from the start about boating safety and stuff like how and why to use a flare gun.”