Max Vargas recording weights at the weigh station, Adriatic Offshore Tuna Championship, Rogoznica, August 2026

Key takeaways

Team Corto won with 7,849 points, led by captain Marijeta Svalina, just 15 years old.
Anglers had more than 400 strikes over three days, almost all of them bluefin tuna released at the boat.
Max Vargas of Top Anglers was one of the international judges, tracking every team, strike, release and video with chief judge Tonći Luketa.

At a glance

Event	3rd Adriatic Offshore Tuna Championship
Dates	August 11–14, 2026 (three fishing days)
Venue	Rogoznica, Croatia
Teams	38 teams from 20 countries on three continents
Target	Bluefin tuna, catch and release
Champion	Corto, Captain Marijeta Svalina (15 years old), 7,849 points
Top Anglers’ role	Max Vargas: international judge, with chief judge Tonći Luketa of the FIPS-M

Results

1st	Corto · Captain Marijeta Svalina · 7,849 points
2nd	Fortis · Captain Robert Blažević · 7,312.5 points
3rd	Luxor (Italy) · Captain Franco Junior Marucci · 6,794 points

Team Corto released 32 tuna on their way to the title. Their captain, Marijeta Svalina, is 15 years old; she fished with her brother Bepo, and their father, Gordon Svalina, led much of the organization of the tournament. Fortis set the single-day record with 27 tuna caught and released, and the heaviest tuna of the event, 45.8 kg, came to the Italian team Hook Up.

How the scoring worked

The target was Atlantic bluefin tuna, and almost every bluefin was released at the boat. Each team could bring a single bluefin to the scale, and only fish of 40 kg or more scored by weight; the heavier the fish, the more points. Teams could also keep little tunny, a small tuna similar to the skipjack, and every one brought to the scale added points by weight.

A Mexican judge in the Adriatic

Max Vargas, chief strategy officer of Top Anglers, was one of the international judges, working with chief judge Tonći Luketa, the FIPS-M representative for big game. Max followed every boat on the live tracking system and checked each team’s strikes, positions and releases, and the video that proves every scored fish, so that results were fair for every crew.

The event

The third Adriatic Offshore Tuna Championship was fished out of Rogoznica, on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, from August 11 to 14, 2026, organized by the Nautical Sports Society Giričić of Kaštel Gomilica with the Croatian sportfishing community. Thirty-eight teams from 20 countries on three continents took part, from Italy, Montenegro and Senegal to the United States. Fly Navarro, one of the best-known sportfishing promoters in the Americas, and the marine artist Carey Chen were also there.

Why it matters for anglers in Cabo

Catch and release, fair rules and careful fish handling are the same standards we follow on our boats in Cabo. If you want to fish with a crew that knows them, book direct with our family.