by Mat Churchill


The first Port Douglas Marlin Challenge may have finished two weeks ago, but for event organiser Terry Murphy, it's just the beginning of what he hopes will create a thriving industry for the town.

Ten boats from as far away as Sydney took part in the Challenge and Mr Murphy, who put hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of his own money into the event, said he has received some great feedback.

"I'm ecstatic about how it went. The whole premise behind the competition is fun. It was time consuming and hard to set up but the community support has been great.

"We've got people in Port Douglas with foresight and events such as this puts Port Douglas on the map. (This event) has brought branding and marketing worth tens of thousand of dollars" he said.

"The more events brought here the higher the profile we get. I want the community at large to see the value."

Competitors in the Port Douglas Marlin Challenge released all marlin they caught (one of which was estimated to weigh over 1,000 pounds), after tagging them with a device which would provide data for scientific research.

"We worked closely with NSW Fisheries who will use the information. Not much is known about marlin at present," Mr Murphy said.

Mr Murphy, said plans are already in place for next year's event. "It will be bigger next year, guaranteed. I've already been approached by potential sponsors."

"I want to make Port Douglas the game fishing capital of the world. As far as a venue goes it doesn't get any better."

Click here for Event and Results Wrap Up by Heff from Fishing Port Douglas