Florida East Coast Closed Zone Will Remain Closed!

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is not issuing an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) that would open the east coast Florida closed zone to pelagic longline vessels for the stated purpose of conducting “research.” Thanks in large part to TBF’s efforts and to our constituency submitting comments to NOAA, this victory was achieved. This is a major accomplishment that will continue yielding conservation benefits to the fish and other marine resources, which will further support recreational fishing and boating opportunities that support a wide array of associated jobs. The decision comes after almost two years of effort

Atlantic Billfish Recreational Landings Update

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released their preliminary 2018 (January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018) landings in numbers of fish for Atlantic blue and white marlin, roundscale spearfish, and western Atlantic sailfish.  While many tournaments had not happened yet, we still believe that the recreational community will be well below our annual quota for billfish landed. Landings are compiled using self-reported angler reports from the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Non-Tournament Recreational Swordfish and Billfish Landings Database; tournament landings from the Atlantic Tournament Registration & Reporting  system; catch card reports from North Carolina and Maryland; and individual

Passing of a Legend – Capt. Ron Hamlin

Hamlin was recognized not only for his expertise at placing anglers from all over the world on billfish, but also for his contributions to billfish conservation.  His expertise at the helm won him awards year after year, including the Billfish Foundation’s Top Captain Award, for which he stopped competing. After landing billfish for years during the early part of his career, he later recognized that continuation of his profession depended upon the availability of healthy stocks of fish in the water for clients to catch. He turned to catch and release fishing and became a voice for billfish conservation

Closing a Loophole in the Billfish Conservation Act

The amended Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) passed Congress and was signed into law this month, August 2018.  The amended BCA prohibits Pacific billfish landed in Hawaii and in the U.S. Pacific Insular Areas (Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) from being imported into the continental U.S., a loophole in the 2012 BCA. Neither the 2012 BCA nor the 2018 amended BCA prohibits the landing, possession or sale of Pacific billfish by U.S. commercial vessels as is prohibited for Atlantic billfish. Without prohibiting landings of Pacific billfish landed by U.S. commercial vessels, meaningful conservation benefits can only be

Sargassum Invasion

Weed, Weed – too much of a good thing? Offshore anglers know seeing and fishing a floating Sargassum weed line is a good thing for it they usually are very productive for catching dolphin fish and, if lucky, possibly a marlin. Sargassum is a brown-green microalga, or seaweed, which provides habitat for a significant variety of marine species, particularly juveniles seeking shelter from larger prey species. The structure of the Sargassum plant, includes a stem or stipe attached lateral branches with slender leaves and some have berry-like bladders that fill with air and provide buoyance. The weed plants often

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (BFT) Angling Category – Northern Area Trophy Fishery Closing

NOAA Fisheries will close the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery for large medium and giant “trophy” BFT (measuring 73” or greater) in the northern area effective 11:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, July 26, 2018, through December 31, 2018.  The northern area is the area north of 39°18’N (off Great Egg Inlet, NJ).   Note that the Angling category fishery for school, large school, or small medium bluefin tuna (27 to <73”) remains open in all areas except for the Gulf of Mexico, which is designated as bluefin tuna spawning grounds and where NOAA Fisheries does not allow targeted fishing for bluefin

Tag & Release Competition Update

Our annual Tag & Release competition is about 3/4 over and we will crown this year’s winners later this year at our Tag and Release Award Ceremony in February. We are highlighting the “Top Five” in many of the competition categories. This list constitutes the tag and release records processed by TBF as of July 16, 2018. We will post an updated version soon with the regional competitions. Do you know anyone on there? Are you in the top five and want to be recognized by the who’s who in the billfishing community at our ceremony? The end

Billfish Policy Update – July 2018

To keep you up to date and for your convenience, we have summarized some of the latest policies that effect billfish and our community. The Council recommended actions on: Keep up to date on all policy effecting billfish and other associated highly migratory species by signing up for TBF’s e-newsletter

Protect the Option to Incidentally catch & land a Bluefin Tuna in the Gulf of Mexico

Over the past several years, the bluefin tuna (BFT) incidental bite in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has picked up. Through the efforts of TBF, GOM anglers have an allocation of 1.5 metric tons or 3,306.93 pounds of Atlantic bluefin tunas, which permits the landing of a few good-size fish.  (Only 1 per boat per year.) This year’s incidental bluefin tuna allocation for anglers in the Gulf of Mexico was met when a bluefin tuna was brought to the docks in Panama City, FL. Just a few days earlier two other big bluefin were landed off Venice, LA

Bill introduced to phase out large-mesh drift gillnets off California

The practice of allowing the U.S. west coast fishery to still use large mesh drift gillnets is insane. The fact that this method of fishing is still allowed shows how much influence the commercial fishing industry has with the federal fishery management council. Large mesh drift gillnets have been recognized as destructive for decades. The gear is not compatible with conservation, responsible fishery management or responsible use of public marine resources. This gear is already banned in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, as well as off many parts of the west coast. Additionally, the United States is a signatory to international agreements that ban large drift nets in international waters. So why are they still