Last weekend, Garmin was once again a proud supporter of the the ninth annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout in Virgina Beach, VA. The Shootout is the largest Rockfish tournament in the country, and has helped Virginia Beach gain the distinction of being the "Rockfish Capital of the World." At this tourney, participants from more than 100 teams not only have to find the biggest Rockfish, they're also limited to finding their catch inside a 3-mile demarcation line along the coast. This time of year, Rockfish are limited to the 3-mile range, and illegal fishing outside the line is heavily enforced by local law enforcement and the Coast Guard. So to help keep anglers from going past the 3-mile line, every participating boat was outfitted with a GPSMAP 78sc handheld GPS. Thanks to the preloaded BlueChart g2 cartography, participants could view shorelines, depth contours - and most importantly, keep track of where they were fishing on the chart. At the end of each day, the units were turned in, and their daily track logs were reviewed during weigh-in. If the boat's track log went beyond the 3-mile line, they were instantly disqualified.

When it was all said and done, the tournament paid out over $174,000 and the local foodbanks were given all of the fish. To date, the tournament has given thousands of pounds of skinless rockfish filets to area foodbanks - an amazing way to give back to the community. Congratulations to the winning team on their 128.30-pound win, and thanks again to the Shootout team for letting Garmin be a part of such a great tournament!