NMFS reducing billfish research support

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Fishery Science Center, is further diminishes support for billfish research, now by not facilitating funding of a respected billfish scientist! This is a worsening of the government’s longstanding low priority given to billfish, whereas the highest priorities go to the “commercially targeted fish destined for the consumer market,” mainly bluefin and bigeye tunas. While those fish are important, the amount of information we know about billfish is still sparse even though the socio-economic impact of these family of fish are extremely valuable.

This makes your contributions to TBF even more important. Since our inception in 1986, The Billfish Foundation has supported billfish science and those scientists who we can learn more about these family of fish – from our recent age and growth work on Atlantic Blue Marlin to the development and use of stock assessment models in regional fishery management organizations like ICCAT.

A simple way to help continue our work, learning more about these fish, and helping our community is by donating or by becoming/renewing your membership.