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DATES FOR 2011 NATIONALS - 19TH TO 26TH FEBRUARY 2011
NZSFC NATIONALS
 
20th – 27th February 2010
Download the PDF of the tournament rules here
 
 
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
 
The New Zealand “Nationals”shall form the arena in which anglers from throughout New Zealand compete, club against club, team against team and angler against angler for the honour of winning various trophies and titles that have been offered for this tournament.
 
The ‘Council’ will determine the rules and conditions that will apply to this tournament.
 
The ‘Council’ will determine the dates and hours of fishing the tournament.
 
In addition to these above rules, the following will also apply:
 
1.   The IGFA and the NZSFCangling and fishing regulationsare incorporated as tournament rules, and will be adhered to as if fishing for a record. These rules have been evolved internationally so that, in their observances, every fish should have a sporting chance. Captures in which the fish has not had a chance to fight, except on the gaff rope or in the boats, are not caught within the intention of these rules and do not reflect credit on the fish or fisherman. Only fish caught in accordance with these and IGFA angling and fishing regulations and within the intent of these rules will qualify.
 2.   All current New Zealand Laws and Regulations regarding the taking of fish in New Zealand territorial waters.
 
The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council reserves the right to use any information received by it through results sheets of the NATIONAL TOURNAMENT for publicity, statistical, or other purposes that may be beneficial to the Council or it’s membership
 
1.     JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
A Judicial committee will be appointed. The Judicial Committee’s decisions shall be final on all matters pertaining to the contest, and any controversy arising over interpretation of these rules
 
Any dispute relating to the weight of a fish must be lodged with the weighmaster prior to the fish being removed from the weigh station. All other disputes must be lodged in writing, and faxed to the tournament secretary on the day in which the dispute relates.
 
2.     SAFETY
Although the Tournament has been arranged for 8 days it is the skippers responsibility to determine that on any one day, the sea conditions and weather forecasts are safe for his/her boat to put to sea. The Tournament is being run nationwide and the fact that boats may be fishing in one area, is not to be taken as an indicator that it is safe to fish in any other area.
It is each Skippers responsibility to ensure that the boat they intend to participate in is capable of putting to sea safely.
 
It is the Skippers, responsibility to ensure that the boat carries minimum legal safety equipment and inflation aids, including the requirements of local Coastguard/Harbour Board, or any other local body that has assumed control over the water-ways and ocean that the team intend to fish in.
 
Each boat must have a reliable means of communication, with the expectation that they can make contact, or be contacted at all times. Each Boat must return to port, or report to their base each day. Any club who is made aware of a Skipper who has put to sea against the advice or directions of one of the authorities named above, or who has not met minimum safety requirements in equipment must report the matter to the Tournament Secretary, and the Judicial Committee will consider the complaint and can disqualify the team. Any such disqualification will also disqualify any catches previously weighed by that team for the Tournament.
 
Land Based teams will suffer the same penalties if they are found to have ignored advice from officers of surf life saving clubs operating in the area.
 
3.     INFRACTIONS
Any person, club, boat skipper or crew, guilty of infraction of the rules could be disqualified from participation in this or any other NZ Sport Fishing Council contest.
 
4      ELIGIBILITY AND CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
All team members must be financial members of an affiliated club.
 
All clubs being represented in the National Tournament must be affiliated to, and be financial members of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Inc.
 
Junior anglers must be under the age of 17 years at the conclusion of the tournament
 
All teams must have access to a copy of the rules for the National Tournament
 
All teams must nominate a member who will be responsible for the receiving of information for that team, and for certifying that the above conditions have been met
 
All information given to the nominated member shall be deemed to have been given to the whole team.
 
A signed entry form, accompanied by the appropriate entry fees for the whole team must be lodged with the club the team is fishing for, before an entry is valid.
 
5      REGISTRATION
A registration fee of $25 per angler (inclusive of GST) must accompany the official entry form and be paid to the club the angler is representing.
 
All teams must register at the headquarters of the club they are going to represent in the tournament. Correct registration is the team’s responsibility through their nominated member.
 
All team members must be registered and registration fees paid before they commence fishing. New teams, and additional team members can register after the tournament has started but registrations must be completed and registration fees paid and the Tournament Secretary notified before they commence fishing.
 
 
6         CLUB RESPONSIBILITIES
All participating clubs must have a nominated recorder, who will be the official contact for the tournament secretary for all matters relating to the tournament.
 
For the 2010 Nationals the preferred method of receiving and transmitting results will be by email.
 
Council would expect all clubs to make a serious attempt to comply with this preference. However, it is recognised that some clubs may not be able to comply, and for these clubs a fax link will be maintained. Those clubs that are forced to use the fax link must inform the secretary early.
 
All participating clubs must have an email address/facsimile machine to receive and transmit results and other information between the club and tournament secretary.
 
All catches must be relayed to the tournament secretary on the day the fish is weighed or tagged. A day being 6 pm to 6 pm (see rule 9).
 
Daily catch results must be transmitted to the Tournament Secretary not later than 7 pm each day and be certified as true and correct. (Certifying will eliminate the need to send catch certificates in) Nil returns are just as important as positive returns!
 
Final catch results must reach the Tournament Secretary prior to 8 pm on the last fishing day of the tournament. The results for Day 8 will be sent as Day 8’s results but Recorders and Anglers will have 24 hours to check that all fish have been entered and recorded correctly. Once the results are made final no further fish or alterations will be accepted.
On the final night all Clubs must certify that Tag Cards relating to fish which have been reported by the Club during the contest have been sighted by either the Weighmaster or the recorder of the club by 6 pm on the final night
 
All affiliated clubs must provide courtesy weighing and email/fax reporting to all anglers fishing in the tournament in line with Rule 13.
 
Clubs that have teams fishing away from their home base should make every effort to make sure they are aware of their obligations under rule 13.
 
Clubs must provide competent weighmasters to officiate during the clubs weighing times.
 
Clubs should hold a pre-tournament briefing to make teams aware of their responsibilities as regards all aspects of the tournament – Local Coastguard/Harbour rules, radio frequencies and weighstation times.
 
Clubs must have available copies of the Council booklet for teams to purchase or copies of the rules so there is no excuse for teams to be ignorant of the rules.
 
7         TEAMS
Teams will be identified by a team name as well as a team number. The Council will, through the clubs, allocate the team number.
 
All members of the team must fish for the same club, and at least one member of the team must belong to the club they are fishing for. A team must comprise not less than two (2) and not more than ten (10) persons. There must not be less than two members of the same team on the boat at any one time and in the interests of safety at least one person on the boat should be over the age of 18 years.
 
If for any reason the responsible member is changed, the tournament secretary must be notified as soon as possible.
 
MORE THAN ONE team may fish off the same boat, but all teams must be fishing the Nationals tournament.
 
Teams may change boats during the tournament, but must retain the same team name and number. At any one time, all members of the team who are fishing must be on the same boat.
 
No substitute of a team may be made after registration without the consent of the tournament secretary (generally it should not be expected to have substitutes approved after the tournament has commenced).
 
In the case of land based anglers, at any one time, all members of the team who are fishing must, be on a stretch of uninterrupted foreshore, must be in sight of one another, and without the use of aids, be close enough together to be able to call to one another. Or if fishing from a structure, (such as a wharf or jetty) all members must fish from the structure.
 
With the exception of the rule regarding the catching of bait, only team members may fish from the boat during the tournament, and only team members may catch any of the fish as listed under Rule 15 Species. Guests, spectators and crew on the boat who are not team members may assist with the boating of tournament fish. When no game fishing tackle is in the water they may assist with the catching of baitfish, but may not catch any of the tournament species.
 
It is the teams responsibility to make themselves familiar with the rules.
 
Teams will nominate a responsible member on the registration form. Any official information given to the responsible member shall be deemed to have been given to the whole team.
 
8         ANGLERS
Anglers may change teams, but must not start fishing from the new team until the tournament secretary has been notified of the change.
 
Anglers who change teams shall leave all team points behind, but will take individual points with them.
 
9         FISHING DAYS AND TIMES
The tournament will run for eight days, finishing on the last Saturday in February. Teams must not leave a port or anchorage until 6 am on the first day of the tournament and must not start fishing until 8 am.  All catch cards and tag and release cards to be sighted by the weighmaster or recorder of the club where the fish were initially reported by 6 pm on the final day.
 
There is no lines out of the water time, an angler may fish until such time as they believe that if they land or tag a fish they can have their catch card or tag and release card sighted by a weighmaster or recorder of the club reporting the catch by 6pm on the final day. There is no playing out of fish after 6pm on the final day. There is no allowance of extra time to get cards to the weighstation after a long fight. If a team chooses to stay and play a fish late, and they do not make the weighstation by 6pm on
the final night, and have other catch cards, or tag and release cards for fish caught earlier on the boat, those fish will not qualify for the tournament.
 
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE TOURNAMENT A DAY SHALL BE FROM 6 PM ON ANY ONE DAY UNTIL 6 PM THE FOLLOWING DAY
 
10     AREA
The tournament will be fished in that area of water bounded by a line 200 miles from New Zealand’s two main islands. The provisions of Rule 14 reporting of catches, Rule 11 Weighing, and Rule 2 Safety, must be adhered to.
 
11     WEIGHING
All fish must be weighed at the official weigh stations for the tournament (weigh stations are listed in the Council By-Laws) – plus any others notified to the Tournament Secretary prior to the Tournament.
 
All fish must be weighed within 36 hours of being caught.
 
Weighmasters have the right to inspect any gear on the boat at any time of weighing.
 
12     FORMULA BASIS
The formula is the weight of the fish times 100 divided by the line weight for weighed fish, and for tagged and released Billfish, Striped Marlin, Spearfish, Shark, Tuna & Yellowtail points will be Billfish & Striped Marlin 450 points; Spearfish 100 points; Shark 75 points; Tuna (Yellowfin & Bigeye only) 60 points; and Yellowtail 25 points. These tag and release points are regardless of line weight (but must be within the line weights referred to in 15. Species Section 1)
 
13     COURTESY WEIGHING
All clubs must provide courtesy weigh, recording of catches, and reporting of catches to the tournament secretary for any anglers fishing in the tournament. (The general rule should be that visiting anglers should have available to them, the same hours of weighing and reporting services, as a local angler).
 
All participating anglers wishing to use the courtesy weigh facility of another club must abide by the rules and conditions for weighing at the host club as though they were a member of that club. It is the visiting teams responsibility to ensure that their team is familiar with any such rules and conditions.
 
ALL PARTICIPATING ANGLERS WISHING TO USE THE COURTESY WEIGH FACILITY OF ANOTHER CLUB MUST INFORM THE HOST CLUB AS SOON AS SUCH A REQUIREMENT BECOMES APPARENT.
 
Any team intending fishing away from their home base and intending to use courtesy weigh facilities must inform prospective hosts in advance and make their intentions known.
 
Weigh sheets used for courtesy weighing must be from the club providing the courtesy weigh. Two forms must be filled in, prior to weighing of the fish. One weigh sheet is for the club providing the courtesy weigh, and the other is for the angler to take back to their club for their records. This is the angler’s responsibility.
 
If the words > courtesy, consideration, and common sense < are kept to the fore courtesy weighing should not present a problem
 
14     REPORTING OF CATCHES
All fish must be reported as soon as possible after being boated, to the weigh station or club where the fish is expected to be weighed, giving the following details: Angler, Team Number, Team Name, Species and the time boated.
 
All fish tagged and released must be reported as soon as possible after the release,to the club where the tag card will be sighted by a weighmaster or recorder before the end of the contest. The use of a relaying radio station is permitted but the information must be processed by a participating club before being communicated to the Nationals Tournament Secretary. The radio report should have the following details: Angler, Team Number, Team Name, Species and the time boated.
 
15     SPECIES SECTION 1
Please note that Billfish are split into three Sections – the first which will throughout the Rules be referred to as Billfish cover – Blue Marlin, Black Marlin and Broadbill. The second will be referred to throughout the Rules as Striped Marlin and will cover Striped Marlin only. The third will be referred to throughout the rules as Shortbill Spearfish and will cover Shortbill Spearfish only.
 
To be fished in the following line classes
60 kg, 37kg, 24kg, 15kg, 10kg, 8kg, 6kg, 4kg, 3kg, 2kg, 1kg
 
 
Billfish                                   (Black Marlin, Blue Marlin, Broadbill)
 
Striped Marlin
 
Shortbill Spearfish
 
Mahimahi                             Line weights as above but excluding 60 kg
 
Shark                                  (blue shark, bronze whaler, hammerhead shark, mako shark, thresher shark, tiger shark,       porbeagle)
 
Tuna                                   (yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye, butterfly)
 
Yellowtail
 
SPECIES, SECTION 2
To be fished in the following line classes
10kg, 8kg, 6kg, 4kg, 3kg, 2kg, 1kg
 
Tuna                      Slender & Skipjack
Albacore
Snapper
Kahawai
Trevally
 
16     CATCH RESTRICTIONS
Each angler can weigh a maximum of 3 fish per species per day for the Tournament
 
Minimum weights and lengths for fish in all sections are:
 
Billfish             - Marlin                     Weighed                                  90 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               90 kg
                                                         Tag & Release                          No minimum
 
                         - Broadbill                 Weighed                                   Must exceed line weight
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed tippet weight
                                                         Tag & Release                          No minimum            
 
Striped Marlin                                  Weighed                                   90 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               90 kg
                                                         Tag & Release                          No minimum
 
Shortbill Spearfish                              Weighed                                   Must exceed 10 kg
                                                         Fly fishing                                Must exceed 10 kg
                                                         Tag & Release                          No Minimum
 
Mahimahi                                           Weighed                                   Must exceed 4 kg
                                                         Fly fishing                                 Must exceed 4 kg
                                                         No Tag & Release                                                
 
Shark (all species as listed under 15. Species)                          
                                                         Weighed                                   40 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed tippet weight
                                                         Tag & Release                          122 cm or 4 feet
 
Tuna                                                 Weighed                                   Must exceed line weight
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed tippet weight
                                                         Tag & Release                          No minimum
 
Yellowtail                                           Weighed                                   Must exceed line weight and must exceed 1m in length
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed 1m and must exceed tippet weight
                                                         Tag & Release                          Must exceed 75 cm in length
 
Albacore                                            Weighed                                   Must exceed line weight
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed tippet weight
                                                         No Tag and Release             
 
Snapper                                            Weighed                                   Must exceed 2 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed 2 kg
                                                         No Tag & Release
                                                        
Kahawai                                            Weighed                                   Must exceed 2 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed 2 kg
                                                         No Tag & Release
 
Skipjack & Slender                             Weighed                                    Must exceed 2 kg
              Fly Fishing                                 Must exceed 2 kg
              No Tag & Release
 
Trevally                                              Weighed                                   Must exceed 2 kg
                                                         Fly Fishing                               Must exceed 2 kg
               No Tag & Release
 
NB Shark (All Species as listed) – Tagged – 122 cm or 4 ft (it is not intended that anglers or crew should risk injury trying to measure sharks to the millimetre but should use the best possible estimate using any practical aid eg a mark on a gaff handle or length of cord).
 
FLY FISHING SECTION: ALL SPECIES
Tippet classes are as follows: 1kg: 2kg: 3kg: 4 kg: 6 kg: 8 kg: 10kg
 
17     TACKLE
All fish must be caught on rod and reel only (handlines are permitted only for the catching of bait).
 
All fish must be weighed in the line class of the line manufacturers rating of the line used.
 
All tackle must comply with IGFA & NZSFC Fishing & Angling Regulations.
 
***************************
SECTION 1
TEAM TROPHIES
The following Trophies will be awarded by the NZ Sport Fishing Council to the team scoring the most points for each of the twelve species:
 
 
Billfish                                                                   Air New Zealand Trophy
Striped Marlin                                                        John Hough Memorial Trophy
Shortbill Spearfish                                                  Waihau Bay Trophy
Mahimahi                                                               The Dennis Davey Trophy
Shark                                                                     NZI Trophy
Tuna                                                                      City of Auckland Trophy
Yellowtail                                                                Westpac Trophy
Albacore                                                                 Hickey Sports Trophy
Skipjack                   & Slender Tuna                        Wasabi Trophy & Tautuku Fishing Club Trophy (Slender Tuna only)
Snapper                                                                 Sheryl Hart Trophy
Kahawai                                                                Black Magic Trophy
Trevally                                                                 Pursuit Trophy
 
Each species may be fished for on line weights as allocated for that species in RULE 15 on the formula basis.
Points are gained by:
For Billfish, Striped Marlin, Shortbill Spearfish, Tuna, Shark and Yellowtailall tagged fish will score points along with the top 3 scoring fish weighed.  Only the top 3 scoring Mahimahi,Albacore, (Skipjack, & Slender Tuna combined), Snapper, Kahawai, and Trevally will count in their sections.
 
SECTION 2
CHAMPION NEW ZEALAND ANGLERS – INDIVIDUAL ANGLERS
The most meritorious catch on the formula basis for a fish scoring the highest points
 
SECTION 3
NZ CHAMPION LINE WEIGHT ANGLERS
The winner will be the angler with the heaviest single fish in each line weight and each game fish species. In the Billfish, Striped Marlin & Shortbill Spearfish Sections only,if no billfish, striped marlin or shortbill spearfish have been weighed in a particular line weight and a fish has been tagged and released in that line weight, it will be deemed the winner.
 
SECTION 4
NZ CHAMPION BILLFISH ANGLER The winner will be the angler with the most accumulated points (landed and tagged fish). The points to come from the top 3 scoring fish weighed plus all fish tagged and released
 
NZ CHAMPION STRIPED MARLIN ANGLER
The winner will be the angler with the most accumulated points (landed and tagged fish). The points to come from the top 3 scoring fish weighed plus all fish tagged and released
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Contact Us
NZ Sport Fishing Council Inc
PO Box 93, WHANGAREI, 0140
President: Richard Baker
Secretary: Roz Nelson
e-mail - secretary@nzsportfishing.org.nz
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