ICCAT Update – Reductions for Atlantic Marlin

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an international regional fishery management organization for highly migratory species (HMS) in the Atlantic, including billfish, tunas, and some sharks. Two additional, separate organizations for HMS operate in the Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean. These three organizations were established by treaties among member nations, which meet each year to negotiate landing tonnage, as well as other management and conservation measures. They each also gather scientists each year to conduct stock assessments and make recommendations, based on science, to the managing Commission before which national delegations from

A Win for HMS Conservation in the Pacific? Not So Fast…

While no action was taken by the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) at its November meeting to advance further consideration of its recently proposed measure to consider authorizing a Shallow Set Longline (SSLL) fishery for swordfish in waters off California November meeting. The PFMC did authorize its governmental Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) to analyze effort, catch, bycatch data of subsets of Hawaii’s shallow-set longline observer data, document domestic and foreign supply of swordfish on the west coast and Hawaii and current conservation impacts on each, assess potential mitigation of such impacts that might reduce the

Atlantic Swordfish and Bluefin Landings Update

NOAA Fisheries announced landings updates for Atlantic swordfish and bluefin tuna. This update includes all fish landed between January 1st and October 31st of this year. For swordfish, a total of 835.2 metric tons dressed weight (mt dw) has been landed, totaling 28.4% of the 2,937.6 mt dw baseline quota for 2019. Of this, 791.2 mt dw has been caught intentionally by commercial fisheries, 7.4 mt dw has been reported as commercial bycatch, and 36.6 mt dw has been caught by recreational anglers. At this time in 2018, only 606.9 mt dw had been landed, resulting in a 228.3

TBF’s Gamefish on Thrones Gala Recap

A multitude of characters, looking like they stepped straight out of Westeros, caused heads to spin and added lots of excitement to TBF’s gala, Gamefish on Thrones. Wildlings and Night’s Watchmen filled the ballroom wearing fur from boots to shoulders as the Night King and his whitewalkers brought a sense of unknowing fear to some. That is, until a uniformed platoon of knights marched in, some riding dragons, and kept watch during the dark of night as strangers sipped Bacardi libations. At the same time, strong and beautiful Queens and Khaleesis showed their power as they worked their magic

Blue Marlin Satellite Tagging in the Gulf of Mexico

Because overfished Atlantic marlin receive no government research funding priority, large data gaps relating to their life history characteristics remain. Satellite tagging provides a means to fill some of the data gaps by recording a marlin’s location and movement in the water column, both horizontal and vertical. Each tag records variables in sunlight levels, water temperature and pressure that is converted to location and movement. Movement data then provides insight to such elements as whether oil rigs, which serve as large Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs), modify marlin movements and whether marlin remain in the region all year because

TBF Enters New Partnership with Release Marine

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud to announce our new partnership with Release Marine! Release Marine has been a supporter of TBF for years but will now officially be solidifying and increasing their support by donating a portion of each sale of a new Fighting Chair or Battle Saddle to TBF moving foward. This announcement is significant in illustrating their dedication to billfish conservation and their clear understanding that a healthy sportfishing industry can only come in the wake of healthy billfish populations. “We at The Billfish Foundation are enormously grateful to Release Marine for such a generous commitment

TBF Responds to New Pacific Fishery Management Council Initiative

The Pacific Fishery Management Counsel is proposing to authorize the use of shallow-set longline gear to fish for swordfish off the West Coast of the United States. Below are the official comments by President of The Billfish

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