Fish Was Disqualified from Tournament, Derby Leaders Confirm

Steve Myrick Tuesday, October 18 2016 - 3:16pm

<p>Leaders at the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby said a 36.42-pound striped bass had been disqualified based on evidence that derby rules had been broken.</p>

Leaders at the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby confirmed Tuesday that a fish had been disqualified based on evidence that derby rules had been broken.

The 36.42-pound striped bass led the shore bass division for much of the tournament, but was knocked off the leader board on the final morning of the tournament by a larger fish.

The disqualified fish was weighed in by a nine-year-old boy from Chilmark on Oct. 12. His father, Lev Wlodyka, is a well-known fisherman who has often been on the leaderboard with large fish.

“We have sufficient evidence to realize a rule was violated,” derby chairman Ed Jerome told the Gazette Tuesday. He said he could not provide details except to say that the derby committee will consider evidence and make a decision about whether to impose sanctions as a result of the violation. The derby executive committee decided to disqualify the fish in the final hours of the competition Saturday evening.

Internal deliberations among the derby committee are kept private, Mr. Jerome said.

He also said the derby, which concluded its 71st year last weekend, is a well respected tournament, and the rare instance of rules violations are an unpleasant part of the job for volunteer committee members.

“It’s the last thing we want to do with the derby,” Mr. Jerome said. “The derby is fun to operate and to be part of. This is the one singular thing we totally dislike.”

Comments

While I respect the need for

Long Time Derby Fisherman MV

While I respect the need for internal deliberations of the derby committee to be kept private the veil of secrecy and lack of transparency regarding rules violations and their consequences in this and in past derby situations is disturbing.

Clearly the grand prizes the derby gives away have reached a point where they are significant enough to tempt some to be dishonest in their pursuit of winning.

The Derby rules grant the Derby Committee with nearly unlimited authority in deciding if a rule was broken and what the punishment should be for that violation. It's clearly a big responsibility and honor to serve on the committee but I think that responsibility should come with a level of accountability to me that seems to be missing.

When a major rule has been violated and their decisions/deliberations have been made the least they can do is provide a written statement to the public and the rest of the Derby community explaining the situation and the punishment. The members of the Derby Committee are not secret and their decisions and punishments should not be either.

Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from offending. Obviously no one likes punishing people, but without transparency about the violation and the punishment for it you won't potentially deter the next person. In fact the idea that if you cheat or break the rules you will be publicly identified to the rest of the Derby would go a long way to deter future violations.

Not being upfront to everyone about what happens when the rules are broken leads to rumors and unfound accusations that can never be fully resolved.

Fish Was Disqualified from Tournament, Derby Leaders Confirm

Comments

While I respect the need for

There is a very valid reason

Trust but verify nothing

We are all, I'm sure,

Mark Lucier > well said.

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