Did you know the tagging data submitted through The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release Program plays a direct role in international fisheries science? Each year, ICCAT (the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) uses recreational tagging and recapture data to inform stock assessments, migration studies, and management decisions for billfish across the Atlantic.
To encourage accurate, legible, and complete reporting, ICCAT runs an annual Recapture Lottery that rewards individuals who go the extra mile when submitting their data. And this year’s winning tag has an incredible story behind it.
The winning recapture was none other than the transatlantic white marlin TBF reported last year, originally tagged off the coast of Morocco, later recaptured off Maryland during the White Marlin Open. This exceptional fish crossed an entire ocean, linking two continents and demonstrating just how far billfish can travel. Its journey showcases why precise tagging and recapture reports are so valuable for science as they help reveal migration and sportfishing effort.
Every properly completed tag card and every accurate recapture submission strengthens the scientific foundation that ICCAT relies on. When you participate in TBF’s Tag & Release Program, your data not only supports conservation but also directly informs international management decisions that impact the future of billfishing.
