In Poreč, the international tournament in hunting for big fish TunIstra - Offshore World Challenge was officially opened

Numerous guests gathered at the ceremonial opening of one of the biggest big fish hunting competitions in the Adriatic: TunIstra - Offshore World Challenge Poreč 2024. which will be held in Poreč until September 15. The whole week is full of interesting events, the center of which is one of the most valued large fish - tuna. Thanks to the Tunalicious Street Food Festival and Tuna Restaurant Week, visitors will be able to enjoy the delicious delicacies of the queen of the Adriatic Sea and a rich music program.

The opening ceremony of the competition began with recognition of the initiator, idea leader and captain of the TunIstra competition, Frank Čerin who passed away last year. The organizers thanked him with an emotional video and a minute of silence, and Frank's close friends and colleagues also addressed the crowd. Ervino Žudić, Sandy Chiavalon, Boris Miletić i Mirko Betti.

The sixth edition of the competition was officially opened by the president of the Sport Fishing Club Big Game 4Tuna Mateo Ostojić, vice president of the club Aljoša Selovin, mayor of Poreč Loris Peršurić, director of the office of the Tourist Board of the City of Poreč Nenad Velenik and a representative of the event's main sponsor, Vlatka Ilečić Arklinić from Valamar Riviera.

"I remember the first year of this event, that energy, that excitement, that adrenaline and most importantly, that love and passion that all crews have for hunting big fish and pass it on to all of us, it's really special. Thank you to everyone who worked on for this unique event to return to our city. I wish everyone a nice welcome, enjoy and have fun.", said the mayor of Poreč Loris Peršurić.

"This is how I greet all the dear guests of Poreč, dear hedonists and everyone who feels that way. Poreč has been the center of the "tuna world" these past few days, I thank the organizers who once again brought the hunt for big fish to our destination. I congratulate all the crews that responded and to all the guests who accepted this event as their own. I wish everyone a lot of success and great moments in Poreč these days.",  said the director of the office of the Tourist Board of the City of Poreč Nenad Velenik.

TunIstra – Offshore World Challenge 2024 is one of the biggest "Big game fishing" competitions in Croatia, during which large fish are caught, most often bluefin tuna, eels, eels, lampreys and sea bream.

"Poreč's waters will once again be flooded by boats with over 30 crews from Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Croatia, competing in the hunt for big fish. The TunIstra competition and the Tunalicious Festival have become a recognizable brand that positions Poreč as a place on the Adriatic where fishing and eats the biggest and best tuna For this competition, a quota of 2005 kilograms of bluefin tuna has been approved, so the largest tuna caught will be weighed and scored every evening on the Poreč waterfront, which gives visitors the opportunity to see them live Specimens of tuna and other fish will be released back into the sea according to the "catch & release" principle., he pointed out Mateo Ostojić, president of ŠRK Big Game 4Tuna.

"TunIstra is a qualifying tournament for the Offshore World Championship - the World Championship that will be held in Costa Rica in 2025, which testifies to the importance of this competition. Bluefin tuna lives in our sea in significant quantities and, what is even more significant for this sport, here catch capital catches worthy of world destinations. Back in 2015, the Tuna team, with captain Siniš Pavlović, caught a fish weighing 260 kg, while a year later, my team Sampei caught a fish weighing 186 kg. In the same year, captain Davide Grillo and the team Grillox caught a fish of 184 kg, and the Axopar team with captain Filip Babić caught a fish of 2019 kg at the last edition of Tunistra in 198,75. The west coast of Istria can therefore be fully compared to the most important destinations for big game fishing , such as Mexico, Costa Rica and the Canary Islands", said the vice president of ŠRK Big Game 4Tuna Aljoša Selovin.

The competition is attractive for all visitors, especially the joint line start of all boats that leave in the morning between the island of Sveti Nikola and the lighthouse on Barbaran. In the evening on the Poreč waterfront, everyone can enjoy the tense and interesting weighing of the caught capitals, as well as the rich Tunalicious Street Food offer.

In addition to an interesting sports and gastronomic week, the people of Poreč and their guests can expect top-notch entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which will be provided by Simon Marlow, Zdenka Kovačiček, Vinko Ćemeraš and SARS, as well as a resident DJ. A musical treat for the end of the festival, on Sunday, September 15, is prepared by the popular TBF and Silente.

Photo: PR