WADDINGTON -- The salvage of two sunken tugboats in the St. Lawrence River will be suspended rather than taking a chance of adversely affecting the Bassmasters Elite tournament off of Waddington.

After discussions with local government and maritime officials, the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control has decided to order a temporary halt to the salvage of the two tugs that capsized in strong currents June 22 in the narrow channels near the Seaway International Bridge that runs across the river from Massena to Cornwall.

The Bassmaster competition, set to run from July 30 to Aug. 2 with some of the most skilled bass-fishing practitioners in the country, is poised to attract more than 30,000 visitors to the region and generate up to $3.8 million for the local economy, “so it is essential that the competition go on as planned, and our administration lobbied heavily alongside multiple partners in government to ensure that the competition would not be disrupted,” a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said.

In addition to the fishing contest, Waddington has scheduled numerous events, which they are calling “The Party in the Park,” that will feature appearances by well known country music stars and other entertainment during the tournament.

The salvage operations have been slowed or delayed several times before now as currents once again picked up and as concerns grew over leaking fuel.

The governor credits the help and cooperation of Village of Waddington Mayor Janet Otto-Cassada, Town of Waddington Supervisor Sandra Wright, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, North Country Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chair Garry Douglas, the Bassmasters team, and representatives of the U.S. State Department, the Canadian government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission, and the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, for their help in securing the salvage suspension during the tournament.

“I would like to thank everyone who worked tirelessly with our administration over the last 24 hours to reschedule these salvage operations,” the governor is quoted as saying in the statement.

The salvage site is about 15 miles downstream from the home base of the tournament at Waddington, and is not far from the St. Lawrence Seaway’s Eisenhower and Snell Locks, which mark the eastern limit of the part of the St. Lawrence that competitors in the tournament may fish.