NOAA Fisheries Announces Mistakes From Past Recreational Fishing Effort Survey
NOAA announced a large-scale follow-up study after results from its recreational fishing effort survey suggested the order of the questions in the survey may lead to an overestimation of fishing effort. Published in August 2023, “Evaluating Measurement Error in the MRIP Fishing Effort Survey” was one of several studies NOAA Fisheries conducted to evaluate sources […]
Billfish Magazine V3 for 2023 being delivered!
Our latest edition of Billfish Magazine’s 2023 is being shipped this week to our members! This issue is packed with a variety of topics, including our roundup of all of our tournament travel, the annual gala, and coverage of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference, as well as offering an update on domestic issues […]
76th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Recap
TBF back presenting at GCFI In November of this year, three members of TBF traveled to Nassau, The Bahamas for the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute’s (GCFI) 76th Annual Conference. Peter Chaibongsai, Addie Spain, and Racine Prinzo attended the conference to present their research findings and to share ideas and perspectives on emerging fisheries science […]
Our New Conservation Record is out!
TBF’s 2021 Conservation Record has officially been completed and the results are in! Sometimes it can be hard to summarize all the hard work done in a year’s time, but this report acts as a really good start. In total, there were 11,822 new data entries added to The Billfish Foundation’s database in 2021, […]
Costa’s Marlin-Fly Project
For years, we have all heard about the amazing fishery and waters in Magdalena Bay, Mexico. From the hookups of doubles, triples, and quads of striped marlin with daily releases in the triple digits, it is not surprising that a number of our tag and release winners utilize this incredible location to secure some of our top annual awards. While the fishery as a whole may be renowned by offshore anglers, our current knowledge about the striped marlin fishery in particular is merely surface level. As always, our goal is to conserve, educate, and promote sustainable fishing in locations
New Age/Growth Study on Atlantic Blue Marlin and Swordfish need samples!
Scientists at the University of Maine need Atlantic blue marlin that weigh over 800 lbs and Atlantic swordfish over 500 lbs, specifically their heads, and the fork length measurement. They are hoping to conduct an age and growth study of these big girls and confirm their ages by collecting hard parts, like their otoliths or ear bones. If you land or know someone who has landed one, please let us know! They are willing to pay for the shipping and packaging of each of them. Again, all the scientists need is the head of the Atlantic blue marlin and swordfish
New Report of the Economic Contributions by Recreational Fishing Released
Last week, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) released the 2023 Economic Contributions of Recreational Fishing: U.S. Congressional Districts report, an update of previous data in partnership with Southwick Associates. The report highlighted the social and economic importance of sportfishing (saltwater and freshwater) across the United States and focused on the economic contributions to the respective state economies from anglers who live within each congressional district. The report stated that we have nearly 52 and a half million anglers in our respective saltwater and freshwater communities. We contribute $148 billion in economic output and support 945,500 jobs, while also contributing
Gulf of Mexico Hotspots Mapping Initiative
NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are collaborating on a 5-year project to “evaluate the feasibility of bycatch hotspots” via communication networks in the Gulf of Mexico. Used as a tool to help reduce bycatch, the requested data from the recreational, charter, and commercial fisheries may be used to identify areas where high bycatch is likely. In other words, voluntarily reported angler data may be used to justify closing (spatial management) waters in the Gulf of Mexico to recreational fishing. TBF will monitor this issue and to stay up to date with all things billfish, become
New Findings on Striped Marlin Migrations
The following was released by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and the Large Pelagics Research Center: The most comprehensive effort to date to characterize striped marlin (Kajikia audax) movements in the Central North Pacific revealed broad movements among tracked specimens. The study found some striped marlin have been traveling to the east coast of Australia or halfway to California from their dispersal points around Hawaii. The original research, funded by a NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Program grant, was conducted by scientists associated with the Hawaii-based Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) and the Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) in Massachusetts. It was recently published across
Estimating Pelagic Longline Bycatch
Over the years, Dr. C. Phillip Goodyear, TBF’s billfish scientist has developed “species distribution models” for highly migratory species that estimate time-varying, three-dimensional distribution of habitat. These models are useful in estimating abundances, visualizing stock boundaries and estimating abundance from catch per unit of effort. They incorporate a wide range of biological and environmental data. Examples include depth, annual average estimated total chlorophyll by latitude and longitude, water temperature and oxygen by latitude, longitude, and depth by month and year. This year, Goodyear and a team of scientists led by Elizabeth Babcock, demonstrated that a bycatch estimation tool, created
