Montauk - In response to concerns from local environmental groups, Montauk Marine Basin's 41st annual Shark Tag Tournament, to be held on June 24 and June 25, 2011, with a Captain's Dinner on June 23 at 6 p.m., will take yet another step toward preserving the marine environment. This year the Montauk Marine Basin, The Concerned Citizens of Montauk, and April Gornik, a local artist, are working to help preserve the lives of large East Coast sharks by distributing circle hooks to each boat entered. Using circle hooks rather than traditional "J" hooks can reduce the number of sharks injured or killed during a catch and release tournament. The "G" shape of a circle hook allows the hook to catch in the jaw or corner of the shark's mouth, whereas the "J" hook tends to catch in the shark's gut or throat, which can cause internal injury, leading to the death of immature sharks.

Last year's 40th Annual Shark Tag Tournament was a huge success, with 75 boats and over 300 anglers. The largest overall shark was a 388-pound Mako, caught by the boat, "Wazzup." The second largest shark was a 345-pound Blue, and a 266-pound Thresher shark took third largest. The tournament had over 256 sharks tagged and released, and they hope to have more this year.

This year's 41st Annual Shark Tag Tournament is going to be bigger than ever, so whether you're fishing the tournament or watching the sharks being weighed in visit 426 West Lake Drive, Montauk, and/or register at 631-668-5900.