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, which included tags, releases, and recaptures. Anglers were able to tag 6,335 billfish, release another 5,412, and recapture 75 previously caught billfish! As a culmination of all our community’s hard work toward billfish conservation in a given year, our Conservation Record provides you with a snapshot of the nearly 280,000 data records stored in TBF’s tag and release database.

With TBF receiving thousands of tag and release records annually from across the globe, our Tag & Release program has grown to become the largest, private billfish tagging data resource in the world and remains the cornerstone of TBF’s conservation and advocacy programs. As this report will show, our program rests on the willingness of you – anglers, captains, and mates – to purchase, deploy, and report tag and recapture data. We could not be more excited to share it with you today, and hope you enjoy it!