Gulf of Mexico Restoration Plan 

Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, a group of federal representatives have continued to assess and develop recovery strategies for injured marine resources. Referred to as The Open Ocean Trustees, their most recent plan is a result of past collaborative work and stakeholder input, which aims to restore those affected resources. This strategic Plan will guide restoration of priority fish and water column invertebrates. Atlantic blue marlin, which are overfished and overfishing is taking place, have been identified as a priority species. (To learn the difference between overfished and overfishing

Costa Rica’s Tuna Reform Law – Billfish Impacts Uncertain

As reported recently in the Tico Times, a new Costa Rican tuna law requires all purse seine vessels (none of which are owned by Costa Rican interests) to fish outside of 80 miles from shore. Previously, a 2014 Presidential Decree required the vessels to fish outside 45 miles. This, the Times reported, “created an amazing recovery for sportfishing, except for sailfish” catches, which increased with the commercial longline fishery. Sailfish are very important to the nation’s sportfishing eco-tourism trade, once earning the nation the recognition of Sailfish Capital of the World, now held by Guatemala.   Unfortunately, under current regulations, if

Bluefin Quota Allocation Transfer – Sept 2022

NMFS transferred 90.5 metric tons of Atlantic bluefin tuna from the Reserve Category to the General Category for the remainder of this month to cover a 20.5 metric ton quota overage created earlier this year. The additional tonnage applies to the commercial Atlantic Tunas General category permitted vessels and to Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin

TBF Welcomes our newest Winthrop P Rockefeller Intern – Addie Spain

We would like to introduce our newest Winthrop P. Rockefeller Student Ocean intern, Adelaide Spain! She is currently a senior at the University of Miami studying Marine Affairs and Classics with a minor in Sustainable Business. She’s hoping to enter the field of Maritime Law. Experienced in the sportfishing circuit, she has developed a strong interest in the process of integrating conservation techniques into both the tournament and recreational fishing industries. During her time with TBF, we’ll help her gain an understanding of sportfishing conservation, and to represent responsible users of marine resources. Welcome aboard, Addie! Click here if

New Findings on Striped Marlin Migrations

The following was released by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and the Large Pelagics Research Center: The most comprehensive effort to date to characterize striped marlin (Kajikia audax) movements in the Central North Pacific revealed broad movements among tracked specimens. The study found some striped marlin have been traveling to the east coast of Australia or halfway to California from their dispersal points around Hawaii. The original research, funded by a NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Program grant, was conducted by scientists associated with the Hawaii-based Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) and the Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) in Massachusetts. It was recently published across

Estimating Pelagic Longline Bycatch

Over the years, Dr. C. Phillip Goodyear, TBF’s billfish scientist has developed “species distribution models” for highly migratory species that estimate time-varying, three-dimensional distribution of habitat. These models are useful in estimating abundances, visualizing stock boundaries and estimating abundance from catch per unit of effort. They incorporate a wide range of biological and environmental data. Examples include depth, annual average estimated total chlorophyll by latitude and longitude, water temperature and oxygen by latitude, longitude, and depth by month and year. This year, Goodyear and a team of scientists led by Elizabeth Babcock, demonstrated that a bycatch estimation tool, created

Mahi Mahi Summer July 2022 Update

Following the implementation of Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery Management Plan in May 2022, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) issued Regulatory Amendment 3 to the same Plan. Amendment 3, offered precautionary options following a strong and continuous outcry from the recreational fishing industry that Mahi abundance was continuing to decline. The two options were to expand the 18” minimum size limit beyond South Carolina north through Maine and to implement more restrictive bag and vessel limits through that same range. Instead of advancing the precautionary options, the Council decided, that due to staff

Hudson Canyon Proposed for a National Marine Sanctuary Designation

Continued authorization of recreational fishing within the new Sanctuary is essential to the industry and continued great fishing opportunities for citizens throughout the U.S. The designation comes as part of the Administration’s commitment to curb the negative impacts of climate change to the ocean (30 x 30 campaign). The Canyon begins approximately 100 miles off the shores of New York and New Jersey, with a portion overlapping the recently leased wind energy sites in the New York Bite region, continues seaward 350 miles, is 7.5 miles wide, and 2 – 2.5 miles deep and comprises the largest submarine canyon

Atlantic Shark Tournament Generates Heat

East Coast anglers frustrated by the federal government’s failure to take any meaningful action to reduce Atlantic shark depredations on angler-hooked fish have scheduled a shark tournament for July 9. The event will demonstrate to the federal bureaucrats, via one snapshot, the array of shark species and excessive numbers remaining in the water due to a lack of management and current science.  Sharks are decimating recreational fishing opportunities, and business income along the entire East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean killing billfish, tuna, swordfish, other import gamefish, marine mammals, and sea turtles. We hope the

Sales of Offshore Commercial Wind Energy Leases off all U.S. coasts

Sales of Offshore Commercial Wind Energy Leases off all U.S. coasts were first offered by BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of the Interior) off the East Coast in February 2022, which resulted in the sale of 6 leases in the New York Bite region for $4.37 billion. In May a lease sale notice was issued for federal waters off California in what is identified as the Humboldt Wind Energy Area (WEA) and the Morro Bay WEA.  According to BOEM, the leases are projected to generate 4.5 gigawatts of wind energy, enough estimated to power 1.5 million