NOAA Proposes Fishing Regulations in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA is considering an amendment to the current Fishery Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reef Resources in Gulf of Mexico. The amendment establishes new and modifies existing habitat areas of particular concern (HAPC), specifically coral habitats. An HAPC is a subset of essential fish habitat that is either ecologically important, sensitive to human degradation, currently stressed, or rare. Being essential fish habitat means that these coral reefs are essential to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity. With the potential passage of this amendment, NOAA hopes to protect these essential coral habitats against further degradation

International Tag and Release Competition Reminder

Anglers, captains, and mates! The TBF International Tag and Release Competition will end on October 31st, 2019. All fish caught after that date will not count towards this year’s competition. All tag and release cards must be input into the database or received by the TBF office by November 15th, 2019 to count. Unfortunately, we cannot make any exceptions to this rule in order to ensure that everyone receives a fair shot at the title! These rulings apply for the international competition as well as all regional competitions. If you have any questions or concerns about the competition, receipt

Updated English and Spanish Atlantic HMS Compliance Guides

NOAA Fisheries has released updated compliance guides for recreational fishing of highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean. These guides include detailed anatomical figures, identification charts, and species-specific bag limits, landing information, and reporting requirements. The guides also include information on permitting, gear restrictions, sale restrictions, chartering, and tournaments. We recommend fishers keep copies of this guide on hand (either printed out or on their phones) when they’re out fishing. This way, you can ensure that you’re following all the necessary regulations to ensure that billfish and other highly migratory species are around for generations to come. A summary

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fishery Closure

As of 11:30pm on October 13th, 2019, the general category Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery has closed. This closure will persist through November, which signifies the end of the current subquota period. The fishery will reopen on December 1st, 2019, with the default limit of only one fish landed. This closure comes as a result of the fulfillment of the 172.2 mt subquota for this period. It applies to all commercial vessels fishing for bluefin tuna, including commercial General category vessels and  HMS Charter/Headboat category-permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna. From now

Atlantic Tuna and Swordfish Landings Updates

NOAA fisheries announced third quarter landing updates for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, northern albacore, and swordfish. These landings include all fish landed commercially and recreationally by United States vessels in the Atlantic Ocean from January 1st through August 31st, 2019. The changes as compared to last year are summarized below: More detailed summaries of the 2019 third quarter landings updates for each individual fish are also included below: Swordfish: Bluefin Tuna: Other Tuna: For more information on billfish and sportfishing news, subscribe to our newsletter, become a member, or follow us on social media

FWC Announces Blackfin Tuna Recreational Limit

In July, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) drafted a proposal to create a recreational limit for blackfin tuna in Florida and the surrounding federal waters. In it’s October meeting, the proposal was finally voted on and approved. This new regulation changes only slightly the old bag limits for blackfin tuna. Previously, blackfin tuna had a recreational limit of 2 fish or 100 pounds per person, per day, whichever is greater. Now, that limit has been altered to be 2 fish per person or 10 fish per vessel, per day, whichever is greater. The recreational limit previously

FWC Supports TBF In Opposing NMFS Initiatives

The Billfish Foundation is encouraged by the comments made by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regarding the proposed actions of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS). As a reminder, NMFS proposed to loosen regulations in Gear Restricted Areas of the Gulf of Mexico, New Jersey, and Cape Hatteras, as well as decrease the required time for weak hook use in the Gulf of Mexico in half, including during billfish tournament season. This initiative comes as the U.S. federal government seeks to reinvigorate commercial longline fishing at the expense of the recreational fishing industry and the wellbeing

International Tag and Release Competition Update

TAGGING CAPTAIN: RELEASE CAPTAIN: TAGGING ANGLER: RELEASE ANGLER: TAGGING LADY ANGLER: RELEASE LADY ANGLER: TAGGING YOUTH ANGLER: RELEASE YOUTH ANGLER: Blue Marlin Tagging Captain: Sailfish Tagging Captain: Swordfish Tagging Captain: White Marlin Tagging Captain: Blue Marlin Tagging Angler: Sailfish Tagging Angler: Swordfish Tagging Angler: White Marlin Tagging Angler: Blue Marlin Release Captain: Sailfish Release Captain: Swordfish Release Captain: White Marlin Release Captain: Blue Marlin Release Angler: Sailfish Release Angler: Swordfish Release Angler: White Marlin Release Angler: Black Marlin Tagging Captain: Blue Marlin Tagging Captain: Sailfish Tagging Captain: Striped Marlin Tagging Captain: Black Marlin Tagging Angler: Blue Marlin

Now Accepting Submissions for the 2020 TBF Artist of the Year

Attention all creatives! The Billfish Foundation is now accepting submissions for the 2020 Artist of the Year! Every year, TBF chooses one artist to highlight all year long. As the TBF Artist of the Year, your art will be featured on the cover on Billfish Magazine with a profile and write up inside, a print of yours will be given to future TBF members, and your work will be promoted amply on social media and during our events. Past winners include art powerhouses like Gash Clayton, Carey Chen, Dustin Cole, and more! To apply, just send us your information

TBF Tells NMFS NO To Harming Billfish and Sportfishing

As promised, below are TBF’s final comments for the NMFS initiative that will potentially decimate billfish populations and harm the recreational fishing community. As a reminder, the new NMFS proposal is twofold: To read more about the proposal, click here. Most importantly, to add your comments telling NMFS NO to loosening gear restrictions and harming our community, click here. Comments are due by midnight tonight, September 30th