TBF MOBILE APPLICATION GOES LIVE!
Over the past 26 years, the sportfishing community has provided The Billfish Foundation (TBF) with over 220,000 tag and release records, making it the largest private billfish database worldwide. The data received helps marine researchers gain insight into migratory patterns, growth rates, habitat usage, and the overall health of billfish stocks around the world. A vast majority of those records used to be received on our traditional cards via post, but with TBF’s online system launch several years ago, there has been an incredible 45% increase in reported data from anglers, captains, and mates since 2014. With a large shift of people moving from desktop users into mobile devices, TBF wanted to make it easier and more convenient for the
UPDATED STANDINGS FOR 2016 ANNUAL TAG & RELEASE COMPETITION
Fall is almost here, and that means the competition year is winding down. Here are the current standings for the 2016 International Tag & Release competition. Those of you in first place, don’t rest too easy, there’s still 2 months of fishing to go, and those of you not yet on the board still have time. All fishing must be completed by October 31, and all tag cards need to be either entered by you (tagbillfish.org) or in the TBF office by November 15, NO EXCEPTIONS! Mail, fax, email, hand delivered, however you prefer is fine with us, but
Gulf of Mexico Blue Marlin Satellite Tagging Expedition
TBF’s Gulf of Mexico Blue Marlin Satellite Tagging Expedition, staged out of Port Eads, which is 84.5 miles south of New Orleans, 24 miles south of the southernmost road in the state and only 5 miles from the 100 fathom curve and deep water, was extremely exciting. Participants included TBF board members, scientists, members of the New Orleans Big Game Fishing Club and the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club, charter boats and an array of billfishing constituents with boats from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. TBF board chairman Scott Cooper, board member Johnny Dorland and president Ellen Peel, scientists
TBF’S JUNIOR ANGLER PROGRAM
Do you remember where, when, and what you used to catch the first fish that got you “hooked” on fishing? Who were you with and how did that singular experience get you more involved with fishing and conservation? 2016 is year of the Junior Angler for The Billfish Foundation and TBF is developing content for their Junior Angler Program and we would love for you to be a part of it. We want to get a first hand report on your most memorable fishing experience – not necessarily billfish related. We believe that many in the sportfishing community (and our
Billfish Conservation Record Now Available – Analyzing 2014 data
The Billfish Foundation’s newest International Billfish Conservation Record is now available digitally! The Conservation Record includes the 2014 Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, summary of all tag, release & recapture data submitted for 2014, a breakdown of the species reported, maps of top tagging locations by species, and much more! TBF thanks our Tagging Program sponsors in 2014, Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund, Casa Vieja Lodge, Costa, King Sailfish Mounts, SIMRAD & Pelagic Gear, for their support in making this record possible. View the entire record by selecting the link from the image below
THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2016 RYBOVICH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS
For Immediate Release – May 4, 2016 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA – Today, The Billfish Foundation (TBF), the world’s leading sportfishing conservation organization for marlin, sailfish, spearfish and associated highly migratory fish, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary and is announcing the winners of its prestigious Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award – Captain Kelvin “Red” Bailey, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Captain Ernie Foster, Hatteras, North Carolina and Bonnie Powell, Brandon, Florida. The Award is named in honor of the late John Rybovich, a pioneer in billfish conservation and sportfishing vessel design. Award presentations will be
INTRODUCING TWO NEW REGIONAL COMPETITIONS!
Due to popular demand of our current regional awards in South Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, TBF is excited to announce the expansion of our regional competitions to include Cape Verde and the Hawaiian Islands. These two locations are known to have great marlin fishing and a passionate sportfishing community, where several past award winners come from or have fished. These competitions will focus on who reports the most total marlin to TBF before the end of the competition season. The season will run concurrently with our overall awards (November 1st – October 31st of the following year) and just like our past regional competitions
INTRODUCING THE HAWAII REGIONAL TAG & RELEASE COMPETITION!
Photo Courtesy of Brian Toney The Hawaiian Islands are undoubtedly a special place for many reasons. In the eyes of many anglers, it is unique for being the only place in the world where a grander marlin has been caught during every month of the year. After the success of TBF’s regional competitions in the Gulf of Mexico and South Florida, TBF has created the Hawaiian Tag & Release Regional Competition to recognize the great fishing, captains, anglers and crews who fish there. It couldn’t come at a moment sooner after one of the best billfish seasons on record
INTRODUCING THE CAPE VERDE REGIONAL TAG & RELEASE COMPETITION
Courtesy of the Big Oh For the past several years, winners of TBF’s International Tag & Release Competition blue marlin categories have all come out of Cape Verde and it is certainly one of the top places in the Atlantic Ocean to catch one of its top predators. Each year this small chain of islands off the west coast of Africa draw some of the biggest and best names in the sportfishing arena. The number of blue marlin and their sizes in Cape Verde make it a special place, a great fishery and an important place for
2016 TAG & RELEASE COMPETITION UPDATE
Just when it seems that the excitement from last year’s Tag & Release Award Ceremony has begun to wind down, we’ve started ramping up for the 2016 competition. This year we will be debuting a few exciting new things for captains and crews, so keep checking in at http://www.billfish.org/competition for official rules and announcements coming soon! Every year, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) recognizes the captains, mates and anglers (including youth and ladies) who tag and release the most billfish in each of the world’s oceans. The competition is categorized by billfish species, ocean, and whether the fish were tagged or released
