(CNN) 鈥� A fishing crew lost out on over $3 million in tournament prize money after the 619.4-pound blue marlin they caught was disqualified due to 鈥渕utilation鈥� caused by a shark or other marine animal, according to a .
The crew of Sensation caught the massive marlin as part of the weeklong fishing tournament based in Morehead City, North Carolina. The marlin gave the crew a six-plus hour fight, according to the , before they boated the beast on Saturday night.
The the boat鈥檚 return to shore, and crowds cheered as was hoisted into the air and weighed.
But a problem quickly became clear.
鈥淥K guys, let鈥檚 talk about the rules here for a second,鈥� said Tommy Bennett, a Big Rock board member and the host of the livestream. 鈥淚t would appear that this fish has been bitten by a shark.鈥�
Indeed, a shows the marlin had visible wounds on its underside and near its tail.
By Sunday, the tournament announced it had consulted with experts and the Sensation鈥檚 blue marlin was disqualified.
鈥淎fter careful deliberation and discussions between the Big Rock Rules Committee and Board of Directors with biologists from both NC State CMAST and NC Marine Fisheries biologists as well as an (International Game Fish Association) official, it was determined that SENSATION鈥橲 619.4-lb Blue Marlin is disqualified due to mutilation caused by a shark or other marine animal. It was deemed that the fish was mutilated before it was landed or boated and therefore it was disqualified,鈥� the tournament said.
鈥淭his decision is consistent with prior decisions made by the tournament in similar circumstances over the last 65 years,鈥� the tournament added.
Sensation would have won $3.5 million for the catch, including over $700,000 for the first boat to catch a marlin weighing over 500 pounds.
Instead, the crew of Sushi, which brought in a 484.5-pound blue marlin, won first place in the tournament 鈥� as well as .
Still, Sensation Capt. Greg McCoy believes his vessel won the tournament fair and square, he told CNN on Tuesday.
鈥淲e worked hard, we felt like what we did was incredible with this fish, we knew we had won the tournament,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew that fish was gonna destroy the other fish on the leaderboard weight-wise, and that鈥檚 exactly what it did. We followed all the rules. There was nothing nefarious or cheating or anything like that on our part.鈥�
鈥淲e feel like it was taken away from us,鈥� he added.
He said he believed the tournament was arbitrarily applying the rules differently from year to year.
鈥淭he tournament is about catching the biggest fish. We caught the biggest fish. I鈥檓 not a sour grapes person. I鈥檓 not a sore loser. We won the tournament. We caught the biggest fish,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s they say, put that in your pipe and smoke it.鈥�
The blue marlin, known for its spear-like bill, can grow to be 14 feet long and . The Big Rock tournament record was set in 2019 when the crew of Top Dog hauled in a . A total of 271 boats participated in this year鈥檚 tournament.
The competitive fishing world was rocked last year when the winning fish in an Ohio tournament were found to be stuffed with lead weights and fish fillets. The fishermen, who were exposed as cheaters on camera, were disqualified from and later .
The-CNN-Wire
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