Marshall Islands Fishermen's Day

Marshall Islands Fishermen's Day

First Friday in July

In the Marshall Islands, Fishermen's Day is a public holiday that is sponsored by the Marshalls Billfish Club. During the Fishermen's Day contest, competing fishermen go out into the ocean and attempt to catch the most, the biggest, or the heaviest fish in any of several categories. Because the boats often leave between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., competitors usually register the evening before the actual contest day. The fishing often lasts as late as 5:00 p.m., at which time the fish are weighed and measured.
The Marshall Islands is well known to have some of the best sport-fishing conditions in the world. In 1981, four friends, Tom Micheals, Wally Milne, Ramsey Reimers, and Ronnie Reimers, founded the Marshalls Billfish Club so that they could be invited to compete in the Hawaiian Invitational Billfish Tournament (HIBT) championship in Kona, Hawaii. During their first time competing in this tournament, the Marshalls Billfish Club won with a 711-pound marlin caught by Ramsey Reimers. That fish remains in the top ten for that competition.
The win at the 1981 HIBT inspired the four friends to set up an annual tournament in the Marshall Islands every July. They recruited many volunteers to help plan and run the very first tournament in July 1982. The Marshall Islands government endorsed the club, local businesses made contributions, and several off-island supporters also contributed to the event. Since then, the event has become a national holiday and a source of enjoyment to hundreds of people each year.
The Marshalls Billfish Club now has a Board of Directors, consisting of seven elected directors and four appointed positions (President, Vice President, Director, and Secretary). There are now over 200 members in the club.

CONTACTS:
Marshall Islands Visitors Authority
P.O. Box 5
Majuro 96960 Marshall Islands
www.visitmarshallislands.com
Marshalls Billfish Club
P.O. Box 1139
Majuro, MH 96960 Republic of the Marshall Islands
www.billfishclub.com
(c)

Celebration days: Jul 1, 2011; Jul 6, 2012; Jul 5, 2013; Jul 4, 2014; Jul 3, 2015