History has been created as for the first time an all-women’s team will be competing in the Samoa International Game Fishing Tournament.

These women are serious as they are competing in the Open category.

The “Team Fish Lady” led by Skipper, Measina Meredith will be fishing to the max on their “Fiauli” boat along with local and international teams.

Their boat is one of the smallest boats in the competition.

While the Samoa International Game Fishing Association (SIGFA) 2023 International Tournament has allocated this coming Wednesday for the women’s category, Skipper Measina and her team will be fishing from Monday to Friday including taking part in the women’s category.

There are five members of the Fish Lady team but each day there will be four team members on the boat and they will be rotating each day.

“Some of us in our team, we’ve been fishing for over 10 years,” said Mrs. Meredith.

“And there are others on our team who are quite new to this, but they have fishing in their blood with their parents also people who have earned income living off the ocean.

“As a team, like any other team, we want to make the podium and land a couple of big fish, but I guess it’s more than just the prize money. It is about being involved in a sporting activity that gets us on the ocean and really engage with our marine environment but also to have fun.”

The Skipper for Team Fish Lady comes from a fishing family.

“There was a smaller tournament two years ago where we fished as an all ladies team, it was a three-day tournament,” she said.

“We also fished in the monthly tournaments that S.I.G.F.A. hosts, so it’s not a new thing to us.

“This year, we will be competing as a lady’s team in the open international tournament, as well as the one day separate for lady’s day tournament that happens on Wednesday.”

She said it’s going to be a challenging week.

“But also, hopefully a really one, and a rewarding one in terms of prizes and friendships. I think the challenge across all boats, it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man, fishing is dependent on the weather. Everyone will be exposed to the harsh sun and the waves,” she said.

“The [forecast] weather during the tournament is up and down, so it’s not going to be a picturesque or a calm day kind of setting, it’s going to be all over the place. It will be a challenge for both [men and women] to try and fish.

“We are grateful to our families that support us to be able to take time out the entire week to compete.

“And also to our club [S.I.G.F.A.] being an inclusive club in terms of participation in the international tournament. We are enthusiastic about what next week brings.”

When speaking about the reason behind her inspiration to be an angler, she explained that it revolves around the fact that they are from fishing families.

“It’s a natural next step to get involved in the sport [game fishing] not only as a recreational sport but also as a competitive sport during the tournament days,” she said.

“At the end of the day, it puts food on the table with everyone taking fish home.”

While Skipper Measina’s team is the only all women’s team, there are other competing teams that have included women.

The five-day fishing tournament kick-starts on Monday 1 May and goes on until Friday 5 May with the prize giving and closing ceremony on Saturday, 6 May.