Southport moves forward with hosting annual king mackerel tournament

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Southport is preparing to host the 40th Annual U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament this weekend and it will be the first major tourism event in the city since Hurricane Florence caused widespread devastation across Brunswick County and the region.

According to the event’s website, the tournament’s board of directors met last week to discuss whether to host the scheduled event or cancel it considering the widespread damage and devastation so many North Carolinians have experienced in the wake of the massive category 1 storm coming ashore more than two weeks ago.

“We talked to local merchants, the city of Southport and local law enforcement to see if we could handle that many people coming into town and our tourism director said ‘We’re open for business, we’re ready for it,'” said tournament board member Duncan Hilburn. “We’re a tourist economy… so we wanted to have lots of people come into town to spend money in Southport.”

The fishing tournament is a major economic driver for Southport.

“It has approximately a $2 million impact to our local economy,” said tournament board member Tim Tippert.

The Board weighed a number of things including “the safety of the anglers, resources available to support the event, the quality of competition and the economic/physical/emotion health of our community” the event website reads.

Event organizers plan to donate at least $1,500 to the Brunswick Family Assistance Hurricane Florence Relief Fund and possibly more depending on turnout, Duncan said.

Last year, the winning mackerel weighed 49.75 pounds and this year’s primary prize category includes $25,000 for the largest king mackerel.

A 40th anniversary insulated fish bag will be given to the first 425 boats who register.

Registration is open now through Tuesday, Oct. 2 and you can continue to register at the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Oct. 3. You may also register at Southport Marina on Thursday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to midnight.

The tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, October 5 and 6. For additional information, go to the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce located at 4433 Long Beach Road, or call 910-457-5787. You can find additional details at the event website.