The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is a 3-day long saltwater fishing tournament in the island town of Dauphin Island, Alabama. It has been held every year since 1929, making it the oldest fishing tournament in the United States. Attracting over 4,000 anglers and 75,000 spectators annually, it is also the world's largest fishing tournament.[1]
History
The fishing rodeo was originally proposed by businessmen from the nearby city of Mobile in 1928, presenting the plan of a deep-sea fishing tournament to the Alabama State Game and Fisheries Commissioner Irvin T. Quinn. In its inaugural year of 1929, 260 anglers paid what was a $5 entry fee to compete in the tournament.[2]
Steadily, more amateur anglers and professional teams alike began to compete in the tournament year-over-year, and both the entry fee and cash prize cool increased accordingly. In particular, the nationwide coverage that resulted from John McPhee's 1998 visit and subsequent publication titled "Catch and Dissect" in The New Yorker led to more out-of-state attendance and overall participation in the tournament.[3][4]
Currently, the project is overseen by the Mobile Jaycees, who organize the tournament proceedings which now include a wide range of prizes for each category, along with food, shopping, and entertainment offerings.[5] Prizes are given to the first, second, and third place-finishers in each category. The current prize value available to competing anglers is $450,000.[6] Entertainment includes live shows, concerts, and games and educational opportunities for kids.
Categories
There are currently 33 different categories in the rodeo. Amongst the most notable categories in the rodeo are the King Mackerel, "Speckled Trout," and Big Game, and large prizes such as boats, trailers, and the largest cash sums are awarded to the winners of these categories.[7] The categories have changed over time in response to local fishing regulations, species classification changes, and controversies. There are live leaderboards for the categories, and there is also a jackpot in which an angler that weighs in a legal fish is selected at random to win a large prize that varies by the edition.[8]
Shark Category
The category most famously removed due to community backlash is the shark category, which was removed in 2015.[9] However, following an increase in shark populations throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the category was reinstated for the 89th edition of the rodeo in 2022. This was following pressure from anglers and spectators to bring it back, and fisheries experts including Dr. Marcus Drymon of Mississippi State University and Dr. Sean Powers of The University of South Alabama determined the local shark populations were stable enough to be harvested in accordance with local regulations.[10]
Rodeo Rules and Weigh-ins
The Mobile Jaycees have an official, accessible list of rules and guidelines.
The main, general rules for participation in the rodeo include:
- Participants must pay $60 to compete.
- [11]
Community Impact
Research Opportunities
Fisheries Management/Conservation
Sociology
-Follow the guidelines of Destin Fishing Rodeo page: but with more detail, especially for categories and include shark category subsection since it has been removed and reinstated
- Pictures from the rodeo
-Add Scholarships/Community Impact section and include economy
-Add conservation section with local universities and organizations particularly Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Mississippi State University
-Add fisheries/sociology section with Scyphers Lab at U of South Alabama
References
Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
https://www.al.com/life/2023/07/alabama-deep-sea-fishing-rodeo-sets-hook-for-90th-edition.html
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https://www.gulfshores.com/events-calendar/fishing/alabama-deep-sea-fishing-rodeo/
https://gardenandgun.com/feature/deep-sea-fishing-rodeo/
https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/news/fishing-rodeo.html
https://www.townofdauphinisland.org/
https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/alabama-deep-sea-fishing-rodeo/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/10/19/catch-and-dissect
- ^ "About Us". Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo | Dauphin Island, AL. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ "About Us". Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo | Dauphin Island, AL. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ "Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ McPhee, John (1998-10-11). "Catch-and-Dissect". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ "Inside the Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo". Garden & Gun. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ lspecker@al.com, Lawrence Specker | (2023-07-17). "Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo sets hook for 90th edition". al. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Tourism, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. "Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo". Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Conservation, David RainerAlabama Department of; Resources, Natural (2023-07-10). "Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo expects large turnout for 90th Rodeo". Gulf Coast Media. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ Dute, Jeff (2015-05-16). "Alabama rodeo changes impact shark, trout jackpot". al. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ June 29; 2022. "Shark Category Returns for 89th ADSFR". Outdoor Alabama. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
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has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Rodeo Rules". Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo | Dauphin Island, AL. Retrieved 2024-04-05.