EAST GREENWICH – A new professional sports franchise is debuting in the state this week.
The Rhode Island Breakers Angling Club will launch its inaugural season in the Sport Fishing Championship on March 6 at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Show at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
Sport Fishing Championship is a 14-club league that stages a 12-tournament regular season from April through August. The Breakers will participate in the Atlantic Division alongside the New Jersey Sea Birds Angling Club, Lights Out Boston Angling Club, East Coast Remix Angling Club, based in South Florida, and North Carolina Flare Angling Club.
Clubs compete for points to qualify for the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, each October.
The Breakers will compete aboard El Bendido, a custom 66-foot Blackwell vessel that recently completed an extensive 18-month refit, especially outfitted for offshore tournament competition along the Eastern Seaboard.
The club, which is privately funded, was founded and assembled by Paul Squarcia, founder of Boston-based One Charles Private Wealth and a 15-year veteran of Merrill Lynch.
Squarcia, who also spent 16 years in corporate business development at firms including State Street Global Advisors and Merck, now leads the franchise as owner and team leader.
“Sport fishing is unique – it’s thrilling whether you’re a seasoned angler or just learning,” said Squarcia. “With SFC’s international broadcast partnership with ESPN and distribution partners across the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, and our team’s ability to share compelling content on social media, we’re excited to introduce more fans to the excitement of competitive sportfishing.”
Ownership of other league clubs includes high-profile professional athletes like Scottie Scheffler, Randy Moss and Austin Dillon.
Sponsors of the Rhode Island Breakers include Blackwell Boatworks, CT Industrial Services LLC, Fish & Tackle and the Legacy Club of Boston.
According to the Sport Fishing Championship, the league itself generates revenue primarily through media and sponsorship deals, including its broadcast partnership with ESPN, rather than ticket sales, with clubs benefiting from exposure, merchandising and branded events.
The Breakers will host the first annual Rhode Island Offshore Invitational Tournament from July 31 to Aug. 2 in Newport.
There, boats will compete 130 miles offshore for rankings and prize money as they hunt for blue and white marlin, bigeye and bluefin tuna, yellowfin and more.
The season’s opening tournament in Key West in April will offer nearly $400,000 in prize money, with additional purses set throughout the 12‑event slate, league officials said.
Bogue noted that the Breakers will spotlight Rhode Island’s recreational fishing and marine economy through national media exposure and league competition.
Data from the American Sportfishing Association and the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association show roughly 50,000 registered Rhode Island anglers and 32,000 in-state registered boats, supported by an additional 46,700 out-of-state operators.
Those participants influence an estimated $370 million in economic activity and support more than 3,000 core fishing sector jobs, data shows.
When combined with the broader marine trade industry – about 2,400 businesses generating more than $5 billion in revenue and supporting more than 36,000 jobs – the marine, boating and fisheries sector accounts for more than 8% of Rhode Island’s gross domestic product, Bogue said.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
