(From BusinessWorld (Philippines))

Thirty one (31) anglers signed up for the three-day AAD Sportfishing Tournament backed by Amado A. Dy at the sailfishing mecca in northern Philippines on April 11-13 at San Vicente in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, for the fourth leg of the 12-round Angler of the Year (AOY) series, Philippine Game Fishing Foundation president Judes Echauz said.

To conserve the sailfish population, said Echauz, the PGFF Board is implementing new fishing rules and regulations for the fishing camp: "During PGFF tournaments, an angler may only catch sailfish over 20 kgs. Any sailfish below 20 kgs should be released or else the angler is penalized by deducting equivalent points from his tournament catch."

"In non-PGFF tournaments, only PGFF members shall be allowed to fish and an angler is allowed to catch a maximum of two (2) sailfish that's over 20-kgs for the duration of their stay. Any sailfish caught below 20-kgs shall be released, or pay a P1,000 penalty per sailfish below 20-kgs. Otherwise, the angler is suspended for two years. Penalty payments will go to the Bantay Dagat Fund," added Echauz.

2002 AOY Mayenn Ordoveza and four-time AOY Rico Gueco heads the cast of top anglers competing. Jimmy Flores of Sigcomm and Cholo Santos shares overall lead in the 2003 AOY for the past three events, tournament director and two-time AOY Rey Buencamino said. Two more sailfish tournaments are lined up at the PGFF fishing camp: the Triple-V 46th Nationals on May 12-15 and the Toots Echauz Memorial Fishing Tournament on June 11-13.