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

TBF GOES TO JAPAN!

On July 25-28th, TBF’s Peter Chaibongsai took part in the Japan Game Fish Association’s (JGFA) Japan International Billfish Tournament (JIBT) off of Shimoda, Japan. Located several hundred miles south from Tokyo, Shimoda, Japan is known for the US Navy opening up trade between nations in the mid-19th century. The JIBT, in its 35th year, pits the best Japanese billfish anglers against one another in a friendly tournament – with the only thing on the line is pride and bragging rights on who is the top billfish boat . While the JGFA holds billfish tournaments on almost every weekend

SAILFISH BREWING COMPANY’S TAG & RELEASE AMBER FESTIVAL

The first annual Sailfish Brewing Company’s Tag & Release Amber Festival was held on July 20th at Sailfish Brewery in Fort Pierce, Florida to bring awareness and generate funds for The Billfish Foundation (TBF). This event was the brewery’s way to help support TBF and to introduce themselves a TBF conservation partner for 2013 and beyond. As part of their commitment to honor the TBF mission, the owners of Sailfish Brewing Company named one of its most popular offerings Tag & Release Amber. Sailfish Brewery donated a $1 for every Tag & Release beer sold during the festival

TBF SUBMITS COMMENTS FOR BILLFISH CONSERVATION ACT SCOPING PROCESS

On July 3,The Billfish Foundation submitted their official comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as part of the scoping process for the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012. Signed into law on October 5, 2012, NMFS is seeking public comment on the potential scope of any future regulations to implement the BCA. Two exemptions placed in the legislation would allow Pacific billfish caught by domestic vessels and landed Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas to be excluded from the general prohibition within the legislation. The legislation also allows foreign vessels to land billfish in Pacific Insular

NEW FEDERAL POLICY WILL ENHANCE GULF OF MEXICO’S RIGS TO REEF PROGRAM

On June 26, 2013 the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) revised their policy for evaluating proposals to convert obsolete, offshore oil and gas production platforms into artificial reefs rather than require companies to remove them in accordance with the ‘Idle Iron’ requirements. These federal regulations require offshore oil and gas operators to seal wells that are no longer producing and remove any associated infrastructure associated with the production platform…removing fish habitats for many of the Gulf of Mexico’s most sought after game fish. BSEE’ s new policy will allow companies to avoid the removal process by making