THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION’S ELLEN PEEL, NAMED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA TO KEY WHITE HOUSE POST
FT LAUDERDALE, Florida, USA — Ms. Ellen Peel, the much respected president and CEO of The Billfish Foundation, who has also served for three years as a U.S. representative to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), has been named by President Obama as U.S. Commissioner to ICCAT. The announcement by the White House, along with the appointments of two others, was made May 10. Russell F. Smith III was also named a U. S. Commissioner to ICCAT. The third appointee was Caitlin Durkovich, named to the Department of Homeland Security as Assistant
AND THE NEXT WINNER OF THE COLLEGIATE BILLFISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (CBNC) COSTA SUNGLASSES DRAWING IS…
Paul Veale, an alumnus of the Southern Methodist University, won our fourteenth Collegiate Billfish National Championship (CBNC) Costa Sunglasses drawing. He won by being an active member of The Billfish Foundation and registering for the CBNC. Will you be the next winner of TBF’s CBNC drawing? Just make sure your membership is active and that you have signed up for the CBNC (which is free). Remember anyone can sign up – STUDENT, ALUMNI, or FAN. We will be drawing more goodies soon, so make sure you sign up at our website! If you have any questions please let us
TBF’S RESPONSE TO THE JUVENILE SWORDFISH VIDEO ON THE INTERNET
KLHS0OjJ8 I am sure many of you have seen this video already and TBF wanted to respond to what we saw in the view. The excessive killing of the juvenile swordfish filmed in the video reflects a complete disregard for conservation, the future jobs dependent upon healthy swordfish stocks and the sacrifices made by U.S. interests to help recover the stocks of North Atlantic swordfish. This area needs to be identified and closed to protect juvenile swordfish, protect US interests and the future livelihood of the fishery. TBF forwarded the video with our expressed dire concern to the
PAXSON H. OFFIELD, RECEIVES TBF’S RYBOVICH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
FT LAUDERDALE, Fla., — A gentleman sportsman long known for his work in conservation on many fronts, especially along the Pacific coast, Paxson H. Offield, received TBF’s Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award, Friday, Oct. 28, at The Billfish Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Dinner in Ft. Lauderdale. A dedicated conservationist Offield of Avalon, California, is a past chairman of TBF serving on its board of directors for 16 years. He’s been a primary supporter of TBF’s billfish science and ocean science-based policy campaigns and fully involved in developing satellite tags for tagging billfish in the Pacific, to track migration and other data
COSTA RICA’S SPORTFISHING AND TOURISM COMMISSION ADDS TBF CONSERVATION DIRECTOR AMONG ITS SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rica, one of the world’s premier sportfishing destinations, has named Herbert Nanne, and Monica Gutierrez to the country’s recently formed Sportfishing and Tourism Commission. Nanne is a biologist and The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Central America Conservation Director. Gutierrez is a lawyer and President of Pronature, a sister conservation entity to TBF. After a TBF sponsored socio-economic study was presented last year on the positive impact sportfishing has for the country, the Costa Rica Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (INCOPESCA)created the commission in July 2010. Its duties include creating alternative projects among the small
CURRENT STANDINGS FOR THE CBNC

The college football season has just begun with fall practice, who do you think will win it all this year? While you might not have a chance to actively participate in those games, TBF has a way for ANYONE (students, alumni, or fans) to help shore up the reputation and competitiveness of your favorite college/university. All you have to do is sign up today for TBF’s and Collegiate Billfish National Championship (CBNC) competition. Your team may not be in contention right now for the #1 ranking, but with TBF, you and your friends can win a National
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK TO SEE CURRENT TAG AND RELEASE COMPETITION STANDINGS
Every year, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) recognizes the captains, mates and anglers (including youth and ladies) who tag and release the most billfish in each of the world’s oceans. The competition is categorized by billfish species, ocean, and whether the fish were tagged or released untagged. Award winners are recognized with beautiful trophies provided by King Sailfish Mounts at TBF’s Annual Tag & Release Awards Ceremony held during the Miami International Boat Show. Now TBF will be offering regular updates to the competition, to let captains, mates, and anglers know who are in the Top 5 for each
TBF’S TAG AND RELEASE COMPETITION NOTES:
We ask you to fill out our Yellow Tag Report Card which accompanies the billfish tags and submit those immediately. These yellow report cards display the series of tag report cards that were distributed to you and are vital to track down who purchased the tags and contact them if we have any gaps in our database and/or can not find the origin of a tagged
THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION FAN PAGE ON FACEBOOK!

If you aren’t already a fan of The Billfish Foundation‘s Official Facebook page, please click on over and join now! Once you get there, “like” the page to get the most up to date information from us! We can’t add anymore friends to the “Billfish TBF” user page, so the Official Page is your best spot to get the latest and greatest in
2011 TBF TAG AND RELEASE AWARD CEREMONY
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. USA – Every time they fish on three oceans, these anglers are helping scientific research. Globally since 1990 they — anglers, captains and mates — have become the heart-and-soul of The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) eminent conservation program committed to billfish tag and release, supplying valuable data critical to learning migratory habits and more. The winners of TBF’s 21th year-long competition were presented their 2010 International Tag & Release Awards at Miami’s Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom. Awards sponsors included American Custom Yachts, Costa, Dockwise, King Sailfish and Rybovich Besides celebrating the award winners, the event was also