The 30th annual Blue Marlin World Cup Championship (World Cup) is Friday, July 4. Teams from around the world will compete for 8 hours in their time zones from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. There will be one winner only in this one day tournament. The single biggest blue marlin of 500 pounds or more will take the entire award. The winner last year received a check for over $330,000.

The $3,000 entry fee covers everyone on the boat.  There is also an optional $5,000 Big Blue Challenge division with potentially a separate winner if the overall winner is not entered in this division. Teams can register on line with a credit card at www.bluemarlinworldcup.com. Checks and wire transfers are also accepted through June 19.

On July 4 the leading marlin will be posted on the World Cup web site in real time sponsored by Black Bart Lures. In this way all teams can see the weight of the leading marlin and smaller fish can be released. During the 2013 event only two blue marlin were landed, both in Bermuda. The World Cup Twitter and Facebook sites will also have the play by play action as reports are received from around the world. To access these sites anybody interested  can go to www.bluemarlinworldcup.com and go to the links to Twitter and Facebook on the home page.

The phone-in number for teams to report their hookups and landings is 954 561-9116. There will be several lines coming in to World Cup headquarters in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

Black Bart lures, the official lure of the World Cup, has designed and produced this year’s beautiful 30th annual tee shirt. Available in both long or short sleeve.  To order,go to www.blackbartlures.com or click on the link on the World Cup home page.

Any teams fishing near the Galveston, Texas area can weigh in their marlin at the full service  Pelican Rest Marina, www.pelicanrestmarina.com. They are an IGFA weigh station as well as a World Cup sponsor. A Texas team from Houston won the World Cup in 1989 with a 544 lb blue.

The World Cup is a qualifying event for the Offshore World Championship which takes place in Costa Rica. The winning team receives an invitation to compete in the 2015 Championship. In 2014, the World Cup winning team placed 7th when an amazing 2735 billfish were released. The highest scoring event ever.

The World Cup supports the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation with a portion of the proceeds.