TBF TALKS BILLFISH ADVOCACY IN CLASSROOM
In October, the students in South Broward High School’s Marine Policy class participated in their annual mock debates about billfish policy as they worked together to create a management plan for billfish in the United States. Groups of students represented different stakeholders in the fishery such as recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, environmental groups, scientists, and government officials as they debated on how to implement increased conservation measures for billfish. TBF’s Andrew Cox attended the final day of debates where the students finalized their positions and came to a conclusion for a new management plan. Students were given insight
TBF MOURNS THE LOSS OF TBF CHIEF SCIENTIST, RUSSELL NELSON
Russell Nelson, The Billfish Foundation’s Chief Scientist and a former leader of the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission, has passed away. His unexpected death is a loss to those who knew him and to the fisheries he helped over a long career. When it came to ensuring healthy fish populations, Russell Nelson was the perfect combination of scientist and reason. As executive director of the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission (FMC), which later became part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nelson helped develop regulations that brought redfish, snook and other species back from the brink of extinction
Get Hooked – Why People Love to Fish
[av_video src=’https://youtu.be/-OrIDEuOOCU’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′] [av_heading tag=’h3′ padding=’10’ heading=’Related’ color=” style=’blockquote modern-quote’ custom_font=” size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ custom_class=”][/av_heading] [av_blog blog_type=’posts’ categories=’54’ link=’category’ blog_style=’blog-grid’ columns=’5′ contents=’title’ content_length=’content’ preview_mode=’auto’ image_size=’portfolio’ items=’5′ offset=’0′ paginate=’no’ conditional=”]
COME SEE WHAT’S NEW AT TBF DURING THE FORT LAUDERDALE BOAT SHOW!
Look for TBF at the 54th edition of The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show(FLIBS) running from Thursday, October 31st – Monday November, 4th. FLIBS promoters forecast this year’s event to be one of the best ever, with new attractions including Seafair, which features upscale food, drinks and shopping, and the Sailfish Pavilion located at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center. Be sure and visit The Billfish Foundation’s display at the Bahia Mar location near the front of the entrance tent. Steve Goione, TBF’s 2013 artist will be a guest at our booth on the first two days of the boat
INTRODUCING THE TBF/TROLLPRO MONTHLY VIDEO CONTEST!
With billfishing at its peak in many destinations worldwide, TBF and TrollPro.comwould love to see your amazing fishing videos. Similar to our monthly photo contest, we will reward you with prizes for sending in the best short videos to us! All you need to do it submit your video to us via email, mail, or share your file via dropbox.com or Google Drive and be sure to “like” our TBF facebook page as well as TrollPro’s Facebook page. Once we contact and confirm the details of the video provider, we will post the top choices on our TBF facebook
“BABY” BLUE MARLIN STORY
Encountering a blue marlin is quite a feat in itself, but seeing one this small is extremely rare. Richard Brackett from Charleston, South Carolina contacted us about catching a small billfish. He sent us the picture above and after looking at it, it was confirmed that he caught a baby blue marlin! Many thought the picture he submitted shows a sailfish due to the “sailfish-like” dorsal fin but blue marlin also have a “sail” early in life. Eventually it recedes and their bill grows out. Sailfish can be easily distinguished due to their dorsal AND bill. Luckily, anglers have
NMFS RELEASES UPDATES FOR BLUEFIN TUNA AND SWORDFISH MANAGEMENT
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently released the Final Rule for Swordfish Management (Amendment 8) and a Draft Rule for Bluefin Tuna Management (Amendment 7). Both have particularly important information for anglers and the recreational fishing community. The final rule for Amendment 8 for swordfish management is intended to more fully utilize the domestic swordfish allocation. Beginning in 2014, a new General Commercial Permit for Swordfish will be available that authorizes the use of hand gear, excluding buoys, to harvest swordfish and legally sell to authorized swordfish dealers. The rule also allows charter/head boats to fish under the
COSTA GREEKFEST 2013
For college students, the first week of school is always one that is full of anxiety of new classes and coming to the conclusion that your summer is officially over. However, the University of Alabama makes sure to welcome students with one epic concert. The Greekfest committee and Costa Sunglasses host the annual Costa Greekfest. This was the fifth consecutive year that they hosted this event, this time on August 23rd, and even the one-hour weather delay could not keep over 12,000 students from turning out. This annual concert brings Alabama students together to “party for a purpose”
GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL MEETS IN NEW ORLEANS
On August 28, TBF attended the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Composed of Governors from each of the five Gulf States and representatives from six federal agencies, the council voted unanimously to approve the initial plan outlining the recovery efforts for the Gulf region following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The preliminary ideas discussed at the meeting and voted upon are outlined in the Draft Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy that can be found by clicking here. Within the document are the Council’s plans for restoration efforts
WELCOME COSTA SUNGLASSES AS A TAG & RELEASE PROGRAM SPONSOR!
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud to announce that Costa Sunglasses is TBF’s newest Tag and Release Program partners. They join King Sailfish Mounts, Pelagic Gear, and Bisbee’s Black and Blueas sponsors of TBF’s cornerstone conservation program. Established in 1990, The Billfish Foundation’s Tag and Release Program is the largest private billfish tagging database in the world, and is the cornerstone of TBF’s conservation and advocacy efforts. With more than 200,000 tag and release reports, TBF receives over 15,000 tag and release records annually from across the globe, which provides vital information for billfish conservation. Tag data is studied
