Costly Fishing Drama Plays Out On Coast

A big fish story continues to play out on North Carolina's coast. The board of directors of the annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament still hasn't announced a final decision regarding a boat that turned in a state-record 883-pound marlin last week. But the winning boat's title and the prize money are on hold because a crew member didn't have a coastal fishing license. North Carolina's Division of Marine Fisheries has cited the 22-year-old crew member from Alexandria, Virginia, for fishing without a license. The citation costs $160 in fine and court costs, but it could cost $912,825 if tournament officials strip the crew of its title. Tony Ross of Beaufort hopes that happens. He owns the boat Wet N' Wild, which placed third by pulling in a 460-pound marlin.| "A rule's a rule. If you bend that rule, you might as well not have a rule. This is a team sport. It takes more than one person to catch that fish. You all have to work together," he says. Ross's crew would move up to second place if the title is taken from the boat named Citation. That means his crew's prize money would jump from $144,380 to about $217,000. Ross says he was suspicious during the weigh-in for the record catch because the Citation's crew didn't look excited. "They didn't jump around and celebrate or anything. They knew then that something was wrong." The Big Rock tournament's rules state that all members of a crew must have a coastal fishing license. The violation was discovered during a routine lie-detector test given to crews of the top three boats. A 10-day coastal fishing license for non-residents costs $10. An annual license costs $30. Update (06/23/10): The tournament's board of directors has disqualified the Citation crew. The crew lost out on about $1.2 million in earnings - the $912,825 first place prize, and a $318,750 bonus for landing the the tournament's first 500-pound marlin.