BILLFISH GENETIC SAMPLING WITH VIMS

Photo Courtesy of Brant Wise Despite the popularity with anglers worldwide and the research investments made by The Billfish Foundation since 1986, still a lot of biological information is not known about marlin, sailfish, and spearfish, making their management and conservation challenging. Billfish tagged by anglers and scientists has revealed a lot about the fishes’ movements and growth rates, but documenting the number of populations of each billfish species that exists in each ocean is unknown. A population is “… a group of fish of the same species that are alive in a defined area at a given time” (Wooten 1990)

Predicting Atlantic Blue Marlin Distribution

TBF’s Dr. Phil Goodyear, is currently advancing research to use oceanographic data and information recovered from earlier satellite tagging research to predict Atlantic blue marlin distributions in time (month, year, time of day) and space (latitude, longitude and depth).  The methods will be used initially to evaluate climate influences on the ability to infer historical abundances based on longline catch rates for Atlantic blue marlin and swordfish, but may also help forecast the effects of global warming on the future fisheries. The two images below, with red indicating concentration of blue marlin in the months of July and

ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA SOUTHERN TROPHY CATEGORY CLOSING JUNE 7TH

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the closure of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category for giant “trophy” bluefin tuna (measuring 73″ or greater) in the southern area. The closure will begin at 11:30 p.m. local time, this Sunday, June 7, 2015 through the remainder of 2015. Until this time, anglers are still allowed to land a trophy bluefin tuna and are required to report their landings of any trophy bluefin tuna to NMFS with 24 hrs. HMS Angling permit holders within the southern area are still permited to land BFT measuring from 27″ to less than

PUBLIC LOCKED OUT OF BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK

Today, the National Park Service announced its final General Management Plan (GMP) for Biscayne National Park. Despite commitments made by Biscayne National Park officials to work with stakeholders and the state of Florida to explore less restrictive options, the GMP includes a marine reserve, eliminating fishing and severely restricting boating in over 10,000 acres of the park’s most popular and productive marine waters. Photo credit: National Park Service “The recreational boating industry is disheartened by the National Park Service’s decision to implement a marine reserve at Biscayne National Park,” said Nicole Vasilaros, vice president of legal and federal affairs

RECREATIONAL SALTWATER FISHING COALITION LAUDS HOUSE LEGISLATION

Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization contains major provisions benefitting recreational fishing A coalition of organizations representing the saltwater recreational fishing and boating community congratulated the U.S. House of Representatives on its passage of H.R. 1335, a bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary statute governing the nation’s marine fisheries. “The House action recognizes the increasing popularity of saltwater recreational fishing, which contributes $70 billion annually to the nation’s economy and supports 454,000 jobs in every type of business from marinas, tackle shops and boat dealerships to restaurants, motels and clothing stores,” said Jeff Angers, president

BLUEFIN TUNA REC. RETENTION LIMITS

Anglers who are lucky enough to come across any bluefin tuna this year should make sure they know the new regulations this season. The passage of Amendment 7 brings new regulations for HMS Charter/Headboat and HMS Angling permit holders including the possibility for crews in the Gulf of Mexico to retain one trophy sized (>73″) per vessel per year. By allocating a portion of the trophy subquota to the Gulf of Mexico region, any boats holding a valid HMS Charter/Headboat or HMS Angling permit may retain one trophy sized bluefin per vessel per year that are incidentally caught (recreational boats cannot target bluefin

BILLFISH BILL MORPHOLOGY

Rostrum: a funny word used by scientists to describe the “upper jaw prolonged into a long stout spear with round cross-section.” To anglers, it’s known as a bill and is what makes marlin, sailfish (Istiophorids) and swordfish such incredible creatures. Fossil records date the first signs of an elongated upper jaw in fish to more than 20 million years ago. The evolution of the bill clearly gave the species a great advantage in catching prey and has led them to be the extremely effective hunters they are today. How exactly the bill is used varies by the species

CAPTAIN’S TIPS & TRICKS

We are asking some of the top captains in the world for some of their tricks/tips, and this month, Capt. Chris Sheeder from Casa Vieja Lodge, a Tag & Release Program Sponsor, will talk about hooking up multiples… Courtesy of Capt. Chris Sheeder. There are only a handful of captains that can say they have more than a thousand billfish releases under their belt. For a captain to even come close to reaching those kind of numbers takes certain combination of effort from the crew, great fishing conditions, and a skilled captain to bring them all together. This means making

NOAA Unveils the First National Saltwater Recreational Fishing Policy

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) kept a promise made at the National Recreational Fishing Summit, February 2014, by its leader, Eileen Soebeck, Assistant Administrator in September 2014, when it released the first draft of the policy.   The agency subsequently accepted public comments and in February 2015 at the Progressive Miami Boat Show released its finished version of the Policy, which establishes goals and guiding principles to be incorporated into all of NOAA’s fishery management processes. The goals include: 1) support and maintain sustainable saltwater recreational fisheries resources, including healthy marine and estuarine habitats; 2) promote saltwater recreational fishing

CAPTAIN’S TIPS

By Capt. Scott Leon from Sandman Fishing team There are two approaches to rigging kite baits that both have their positives and negatives making the choice ultimately up to each boat. The “traditional” or “back rig” way to rig a kite bait was with a rubber band through the back or “shoulder” of the bait holding the hook in an upright position on the back of the bait.  This type of rigging minimizes the chances of the hook doubling back into the bait and optimizes the exposure of the hook while feeding the fish.  This style of rigging also