A SNAPSHOT OF THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION’S FIRST 30 YEARS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE NEXT 30!
If you fished offshore 30 years ago you likely remember seeing at tournaments billfish, especially blue marlin, stacked in piles on the docks after anglers posed for photos with their prized dead fish. That was the norm. At the same time, U.S. commercial fishing vessels brought billfish to the docks and sold them. Today the images are very different with release flags flying in most tournaments and U.S. commercial vessels fishing for Atlantic tunas prohibited from selling billfish. Thanks to you – anglers, boat owners, captains and mates along with Win Rockefeller and scientist Dr. Eric Prince – who
CREDIBLE SCIENTISTS TAKE ON SENSATIONALISTS
It comes as good news to learn of CFOOD, a group of well respected scientists that came together “out of frustration with erroneous stories about fisheries sustainability” to “set the record straight.” Even though many sensational claims about the status of fish have been discredited, they continue to appear in the press as factual. CFOOD’s mission is to identify such reports or claims and provide a quick science-based response. How refreshing it is to know this group of scientists are organized to assess and respond at a time when extreme environmental organizations bombard the public and decision makers with reports
BILLFISH GENETIC SAMPLING WITH VIMS
Photo Courtesy of Brant Wise Despite the popularity with anglers worldwide and the research investments made by The Billfish Foundation since 1986, still a lot of biological information is not known about marlin, sailfish, and spearfish, making their management and conservation challenging. Billfish tagged by anglers and scientists has revealed a lot about the fishes’ movements and growth rates, but documenting the number of populations of each billfish species that exists in each ocean is unknown. A population is “… a group of fish of the same species that are alive in a defined area at a given time” (Wooten 1990)
Predicting Atlantic Blue Marlin Distribution
TBF’s Dr. Phil Goodyear, is currently advancing research to use oceanographic data and information recovered from earlier satellite tagging research to predict Atlantic blue marlin distributions in time (month, year, time of day) and space (latitude, longitude and depth). The methods will be used initially to evaluate climate influences on the ability to infer historical abundances based on longline catch rates for Atlantic blue marlin and swordfish, but may also help forecast the effects of global warming on the future fisheries. The two images below, with red indicating concentration of blue marlin in the months of July and
UNDERSTANDING MAXIMUM SIZE IN THE CATCH: ATLANTIC BLUE MARLIN AS AN EXAMPLE
The most recent Atlantic blue marlin research completed by TBF’s Dr. Phillip Goodyear was published by the American Fisheries Society, the oldest, largest and most influential association of fisheries professionals in the world. Its mission is to improve the conservation and sustainability of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems by advancing fisheries and aquatic science and promoting the development of fisheries professionals. Goodyear’s research focused on the effect of fishing on the number of the largest fish in a population using Atlantic blue marlin as an example. Typically, fishing reduces the number of fish that survive to old age which
BILLFISH BILL MORPHOLOGY
Rostrum: a funny word used by scientists to describe the “upper jaw prolonged into a long stout spear with round cross-section.” To anglers, it’s known as a bill and is what makes marlin, sailfish (Istiophorids) and swordfish such incredible creatures. Fossil records date the first signs of an elongated upper jaw in fish to more than 20 million years ago. The evolution of the bill clearly gave the species a great advantage in catching prey and has led them to be the extremely effective hunters they are today. How exactly the bill is used varies by the species
CAPTAIN’S TIPS & TRICKS
We are asking some of the top captains in the world for some of their tricks/tips, and this month, Capt. Chris Sheeder from Casa Vieja Lodge, a Tag & Release Program Sponsor, will talk about hooking up multiples… Courtesy of Capt. Chris Sheeder. There are only a handful of captains that can say they have more than a thousand billfish releases under their belt. For a captain to even come close to reaching those kind of numbers takes certain combination of effort from the crew, great fishing conditions, and a skilled captain to bring them all together. This means making
CAPTAIN’S TIPS
By Capt. Scott Leon from Sandman Fishing team There are two approaches to rigging kite baits that both have their positives and negatives making the choice ultimately up to each boat. The “traditional” or “back rig” way to rig a kite bait was with a rubber band through the back or “shoulder” of the bait holding the hook in an upright position on the back of the bait. This type of rigging minimizes the chances of the hook doubling back into the bait and optimizes the exposure of the hook while feeding the fish. This style of rigging also
FAMILY FUN FEST
Family Fun Fest at Biscayne Bay National Park The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is always looking for new avenues to engage the public on its programs, especially young people. TBF had a unique opportunity to educate over 400 children and adults about the Tag & Release program during Biscayne Bay National Park’s Family Fun Fest on February 8th. The event gave TBF a venue to show how citizen sciencedrives the program and contributes to science and conservation. At the TBF station, participants learned about billfish through photos and larval fish samples. Following a brief discussion on the importance of the
Australian Marine Reserves: Take Two
The Australian government is finally making due on their promise to reevaluate the proposed management plans for the country’s network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves. The initial management plans, released in 2012, would have encompassed 2.3 million square kilometers of ocean including a completely no-take zone covering more than 500,000 square kilometers of the Coral Sea. However, with new leadership in power, independent review of the management plans and consultation is taking place to help restore the confidence of stakeholders with special attention to recreational fishermen. This means listening to the voices of the estimated 5 million recreational anglers
