Havana host Ernest Hemingway marlin fishing tournament
HAVANA, Feb.1 (acn) The Ernest Hemingway International Marlin Fishing Tournament, which promises in its 65th edition to break records of attendance, will be held on May 25-30 in Havana.
Carlos Garcia, president of the Business Group of Nautical Clubs and Marinas, Marlin S.A., recalled that, boosted in 1950 by the famous U.S. novelist, the Hemingway is one of the three oldest tournaments in the world, which therefore makes Cuba stand out as an attractive destination for nautical tourism.
He said that over the last decade the competition has received crews from more than 30 nations, among them the United States with 23 teams, Russia 16, Cuba, United Kingdom, Italia and France with 15 each, and Spain with 14. Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz, of Cuba’s Hemingway International Nautical Club, said that so far they have received dozens of requests from around the World to participate in the Tournament, particularly from the U.S. nautical community.
If their government authorizes it, the attendance of U.S. fishers this year will break the historic records of 1979 (80 ships) and 1999 (50), predicted Diaz. The president of the Cuban Fishers Federation, Ramon Cusa, informed that the competition will include two modalities: trolling and tag and release, in order not to harm the species during catch.