The Samoa International Game Fishing Association (SIGFA) recently held its international tournament in Apia, Samoa, where 24 teams from Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, and Samoa competed for four days, displaying their fishing skills and sportsmanship despite challenging weather conditions. The tournament ended on last Saturday with the Yellowfin team crowned champions with a winning score of 302.1 points, marking their 5th win in the 15-year history of competing in the SIGFA International Competition.
Team Yellowfin’s victory means they will represent Samoa at the esteemed Offshore World Championship Tournament (OWC) in Costa Rica next year. Seiuli Roy Lee, the skipper of Team Yellowfin, expressed his team’s immense pride and dedicated their award to his late parents, who taught him about fishing and supported him throughout his career.
Individual awards were presented to the top anglers by the Honourable Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa during the prize-giving ceremony. Jared Willans from Australia was awarded the champion angler title and secured the tag and release Billfish award, while Pafuti Taupua from American Samoa defended her championship title in the female angler category. Ryan Simpson from Fu’a II caught the heaviest Blue Marlin, while Seb Kohlhase received the oldest angler award, and Michael Levi received the youngest angler award. Other winners included Niko Caffarelli, Konrad Von Reiche, and Karl Roepke.
SIGFA President, Vaughan Simpson, congratulated Yellowfin on their victory and expressed his pleasure with the turnout and competition, despite the unfavorable weather conditions. He thanked the sponsors for their generous support, including Apia Concrete Products Limited, Samoa International Finance Authority, Taula Beverages – Samoa, Ca’Bella Pacific Construction Samoa Ltd., Samoa Tourism, and Samoa Commercial Bank Ltd. Mr. Simpson looks forward to continuing partnerships and hosting more successful tournaments that promote Samoa’s destination and game fishing.
