Mercury-Helsinki Trolling Contest 2022 rules
General Information
The name of the competition is Mercury-Helsinki Trolling Contest 2022
The competition fish is Baltic salmon. The minimum length of fish is 65 cm.
The boat that catches the biggest fish during the three day competition will be awarded the main prize. In case that more than one fish have exactly the same weight, the winner is the fish which has been announced earlier.
In the team competition, the team consists of two or three boat crews that take part to the competition. The winning team is calculated by adding together the weighing result of the team member boat crews.
The competition center is in Helsinki at Herttoniemenranta and the competition area consists of the public/national waters of Finnish marine charts 16, 17, 18 and 19. Competitors will get a closer map of the competition area at the competition center.
Schedule
Friday: 01.07.2022 at 09.00 – 20.00 (obligatory skippers’ meeting at 8:00)
Saturday: 02.07.2022 at 06.00 – 18.00
Sunday: 03.07.2022 at 04.00 – 18.00
Weighing area will be closed each day at the end of the competition time. The competitors must be inside the weighing area with the fish to be weighed before the area is closed.
Limitations for weighing
Minimum size of the fish is 65 cm.
A boat crew that consists of two or more persons can bring maximum of four (4) salmon per day. If boat crew consist of only one person, the limit is two (2) salmon per day.
If a competitor is unsure of the type of the fish (salmon / sea trout) he can ask weighing master’s opinion before weighing takes place. All sea trout with the non cut dorsal fin must immediately be released unharmed.
Awards
Daily prizes: The top 3 boats bringing the most salmon to the weighing (Fri, Sat, Sun) will be awarded. In case of even weighing results, the winner is the boat crew which has caught the biggest salmon.
Biggest salmon of the competition will we awarded the main prize of the competition.
Top 5 boats: At the end of the competition (Sun) the top 5 boats that have brought most salmon to the weighing during all the competition days will be awarded. In case of even weighing results, the winner is the boat crew which has caught the biggest fish.
The special biggest salmon prize: On saturday, the 2nd of July 2022 there is a special biggest salmon prize which is 10000 eur cash for the heaviest salmon of the day. To be able to compete for this prize, the boat registration must have been made and paid before the 1st of June 2022.
All the prizes and their values will be reported to the Finnish tax office for taxation purposes so the personal id card of the winner must be shown to the organizers together with home address to collect the prizes.
Safety
All the boats must have life vest for everyone onboard and all equipment in accordance with the boat’s maritime inspection class. Every boat taking part to the competition is recommended to be equipped with marine VHF radio transmitter / receiver.
The competition organizer can deny insufficiently equipped boat to take part to the competition. The organizer has the right to inspect the participating boats.
Skipper or a member of the boat crew, who is clearly drunk when bringing to fish to weighing or participates in the distribution of prizes can cause rejection of the boat crew from the competition.
Competitors take part to the competition at their own risk.
Catch reporting
All the caught fish must be reported withing 30 minutes of the catch to competition management using competition WhatsApp-group, sending SMS-message or calling to competition management phone number. The announcement must have the boat license number, boat name and the length of the fish in 5 cm accuracy. The easiest way to send the catch report is to take picture of the license and add the fish info to the message by typing before sending it.
Fishing licenses & other fishing limitations
Each 18 – 64 year old fisherman taking part to the competition hold the Finnish national fishing license 2022. Rod amount is not limited, but only one of lure / bait per rod can be used. The organizers will help in this license matter at the competition center if needed.
Registration
The registration form can be found in the top menu of competition web page . Late registration is possible at the competition center during the event.
Competition fees and other matters
The competition fee is 120 € / boat crew. The team competition fee is 75 € / team of thee boats.
Each competitor must have a proof of identity which can be checked during the competition.
The wind limits and the cancellation of the competition
The organizer can interrupt the competition if the wind limit is exceeded or due to other circumstances relating to competitors security.
If the organizer decides to discontinue the competition, a full competition day is counted if five hours or more fishing time has been available based the competition schedule.
If competitive conditions are not met and the prizes have to be divided on other grounds as mentioned above, the jury of the competition will inform about the situation on Saturday (at 13) at the competition center.
Communications and radio communications
The competition related special messages will be sent to all GSM numbers given to the organizer by SMS and marine VHF channels 77 and F3.
Competition Jury
Competition Jury consists of three organizer and two competitors’ representatives.
