TBF’s Top Taggers of the Decade

The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release Program is the cornerstone of our conservation and advocacy. We are proud to maintain the largest private tag and release database in the world, with over 260,000 records. Billfish tagging, and the recaptures that occur as a result, provides valuable scientific data to help us understand more about billfish life history, habitat utilization, migrations, and more. It is also used in stock assessments and to bolster global advocacy efforts for the conservation of these fish. Without tag and release, much of what we know about billfish today would still be a mystery

Shark Populations Proving Detrimental to Sailfish Survival

Charter and private recreational fishing captains primarily are conscientious in practicing conservation-smart measures for their business depends on the availability of fish. Most billfishing captains practice catch and release, some also tag and many use non-offset circle hooks.  But best practices make no differenc e when sharks attack and kill thousands of hooked fish, including sailfish, blue marlin, white marlin, bottom fish and coastal pelagics. Commercial fishing captains are experiencing much the same. Due to overfishing, two decades ago the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and coastal states began restricting Atlantic shark harvest, prohibiting the landing of at least

The Billfish Foundation’s 2020 Virtual Gala

Despite COVID-19 and resulting challenges for The Billfish Foundation (TBF), board members and staff invite you to join and support our 2020 VIRTUAL Gala, guaranteed to be casual as you view, bid and donate from the comfort of your home! Think of the money you will have saved by not attending in person, which you can now spend on Silent Auction items or give a tax-deductible donation to help TBF during these unprecedented times. We hope you understand our dilemma and will help. Next year we will party hard at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort, but first we must

Atlantic Billfish, Swordfish, and Tunas Landings Update

NOAA Fisheries announced landings updates for Atlantic swordfish, billfish, and tunas, which includes recreational billfish and bluefin tuna landings from January 1st through June 30, 2020. But swordfish and non-bluefin tuna landings are for the period of January 1 through July 31, 2020. In general, reported landings are down compared to the same time in 2019, except for Northern Albacore, whose landings are skyrocketing compared to 2019. Swordfish landings are almost exactly the same as last year, with an uptick in commercial bycatch offset by decreases in commercial and recreational targeted landings. Billfish are currently on par to stay

TBF Swordfish Data Represented at ICCAT Meeting

Through its 30-year old tagging program, supported by 190,000 voluntary angler-reported tag reports from around the world, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) assists scientists in gaining a better understanding of billfish’s life history characteristics, including growth, reproduction, yearly movement and survival.  Rare is it to receive tagging data from the Mediterranean Sea, but recent tagging by captsins Rudy and Samuel Urbain provided such a surprise. In March, Drs. Folio Garibaldi and George Stirpes presented swordfish tagging data at a meeting of the Swordfish Species Group, within the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) to help gain a better

Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Opened to Commercial Fishing

A recent Presidential Proclamation opened waters, closed in 2016, to commercial fishing inside the 5,000 square miles of the designated Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, located 130 miles off Cape Cod. The designation was made primarily to protect fragile and largely pristine, deep marine ecosystems and rich biodiversity, including deep sea corals, endangered whales and sea turtles, other marine mammals and numerous fish species. A proposed amendment prohibiting commercial bottom-tending gear from fishing inside the Monument would mitigate impacts on the fragile reefs. A much different situation exists with Closed Zones off the southeast coast and

Tag & Release Competition Update

Listed below are the top 5 captains and anglers in each category for The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release Competition as of August 3, 2020. If a category is missing, it’s because there haven’t been enough fish to qualify. The competition runs through October 31, 2020 and all entries must be in by November 15. Please remember that you are only eligible to receive an award if you are an active member of The Billfish Foundation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Blue Marlin Sailfish Spearfish Swordfish White Marlin Black Marlin Blue Marlin

TBF’s 2020 Conservation So Far

This‌ ‌year‌ ‌has‌ ‌brought‌ ‌immense‌ ‌changes‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌world,‌ ‌but‌ ‌The‌ ‌Billfish‌ ‌Foundation’s‌ ‌dedication‌ ‌to‌ ‌conserving‌ ‌billfish‌ ‌and‌ ‌enhancing‌ ‌recreational‌ ‌fishing‌ ‌opportunities‌ ‌remains‌ ‌steadfast.‌ ‌A‌ ‌few‌ ‌actions‌ ‌TBF‌ ‌has‌ ‌advanced‌ ‌this‌ ‌year‌ ‌follow.‌ We appreciate those who donated or became a member this year, only through your support can we ensure a‌ ‌future‌ ‌with‌ ‌billfish‌ ‌and‌ ‌billfishing‌ ‌opportunities. To stay up-to-date on all things billfish, subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media

2020 Billfish Recaptures Update

The most important data received through TBF’s Tag & Release Program is recapture data. A recapture occurs when a tagged billfish is caught by a second angler subsequent to the tagging and release of a fish. Recapture data contributes toward gaining a better understanding of the species age and growth rates by comparing the reported estimated weight at the time of tagging with the estimated weight upon recapture with consideration given to the amount of time between the two events.  Recapture data also contributes to understanding a species possible site or area fidelity, if tagged and recaptured in the

Summer Tournament Update

The Billfish Foundation is a proud beneficiary of tournaments that support billfish conservation either by limiting billfish catches to all release, setting size limits to minimize the number of billfish landed, or using landed billfish for research, or by donating a portion of their proceeds to TBF for support of research, education, and advocacy. July 4, 2020 All Ports July 15 – 18, 2020 Port Aransas, Texas July 21 – 26, 2020 Port O’Connor, Texas July 23 – 25, 2020 New Orleans, Louisiana July 28 – August 1, 2020 Freeport, Texas August 8-9, 2020 Marina Flamingo, Costa Rica