TBF Gatsby, Glitz, and Glamour Gala Wrap Up

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NOAA Fisheries Denies Petition to Establish a Mandatory Speed Limit in Gulf of Mexico

A huge win for the recreational community occurred on Friday, October 27th, 2023 when the petition to establish a mandatory, 10.5-knot speed limit in the Gulf of Mexico was denied by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The speed limit, among other vessel-related mitigation measures, was proposed in an attempt to reduce vessel collisions with […]

NOAA Announces $82 Million in Funding for North Atlantic Right Whale

NOAA earmarked a $82 million fund dedicated to the conservation and recovery of the North Atlantic right whales. With this announcement, we again want to champion an innovative idea. NOAA’s antiquated approach (and proposed measure) of imposing ineffective, widespread speed restrictions across vast regions hasn’t worked. Such measures not only lack high compliance rates but […]

TBF’s Official Comments in NMFS Amendment 15

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) made official comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on Draft Amendment 15 to the Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan. We are extremely disappointed in the overly complex, technical, and lengthy presentation of the amendment, feeling as though the reader would need a Ph.D. in modeling fish […]

TBF’s Tag & Release Competition Deadline Approaching!

The deadline for The Billfish Foundation’s 2022-2023 Annual Tag & Release Competition is October 31st, 2023. All records must be received by TBF by the end of the day on November 15th, 2023. There are two ways to submit your cards. (1)  Online: Go to www.tagbillfish.org, login into your profile, and submit your tags online. […]

NOAA Announces $82 million in Funding for North Atlantic Right Whales

NOAA recently earmarked a $82 million fund dedicated to the conservation and recovery of the North Atlantic right whales. With this announcement, we again want to champion an innovative idea.  NOAA’s antiquated approach (and proposed measure) of imposing ineffective, widespread speed restrictions across vast regions hasn’t worked. Such measures not only lack high compliance rates […]

TBF’s 2023 Annual Fundraising Gala

Time is running out! Don’t miss out on this year’s Gatsby, Glitz, and Glamour theme for The Billfish Foundation’s Annual Fundraiser Gala, taking place on Friday, October 27, 2023, at the Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, FL! Join TBF as we celebrate 37 years of dedicated billfish conservation while recognizing the invaluable contributions of […]

TBF Welcomes New Employee, Addie Spain

My name is Addie Spain and I am thrilled to be continuing my time with The Billfish Foundation. I recently graduated from the University of Miami with majors in Marine Affairs and Classical History and a minor in Corporate Sustainability.

Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for Endangered Rice’s Whales

NOAA announced a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the endangered Rice’s whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) even though a decision on the vessel speed in the Gulf of Mexico has not been finalized. The proposed critical habitat designation and the Rice’s whale vessel speed petition are unrelated actions. Critical habitat is designated under the ESA, and the requirement to designate critical habitat for the Rice’s whale was triggered by its 2019 listing as an endangered species. The proposed critical habitat includes Gulf of Mexico waters between 100 and 400 meters depth and this critical habitat would guide federal agencies

US BOEM to seek fisheries funds for Gulf of Mexico wind leases

The first offshore wind power lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico will offer a 10 percent credit to developers who contribute to a fisheries compensation fund for commercial and charter fishermen. The August 2023 auction by the BOEM will offer a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, LA and two areas off Galveston, TX, one comprising 102,480 acres and the other 96,786 acres. If developed to full potential, the lease areas could hold turbine arrays with nameplate ratings totaling 3.7 gigawatts of electricity. In planning the Gulf wind energy areas, BOEM excluded highly productive fishing areas after consultations