News

March 19, 2020

Swordfish and Tunas Landings Update

NOAA Fisheries announced landings updates for Northern Atlantic swordfish and tunas, including bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, and northern albacore. This update includes all landings of these species from January 1…

March 13, 2020

2019 Conservation Record: Black Marlin

The Billfish Foundation maintains the largest private tag and release database in the world, with over 260,000 records. In 2019 alone, over 11,000 new tag, release, and recapture records were…

March 5, 2020

2019 Conservation Record: Spearfish

The Billfish Foundation maintains the largest private tag and release database in the world, with over 260,000 records. In 2019 alone, over 11,000 new tag, release, and recapture records were…

March 2, 2020

Raising Bills for Conservation with Casa Vieja Lodge

Raising Bills, hosted by Kristen and David Salazar of Casa Vieja Lodge (CVL), has become one of the most highly anticipated events during the Miami International Boat Show. Industry leaders…

February 28, 2020

TBF Awards Ceremony 2020

February 27, 2020

Kicking Plastic and Billfish Education at Costa’s Conservation Village

For the second year in a row, Costa Sunglasses hosted their Conservation Village in the Miami International Boat Show to educate showgoers about ocean conservation and encourage them to help…

February 24, 2020

2019 Tag & Release Awards Ceremony Recap

Love was in the air during The Billfish Foundation’s 2019 Tag & Release Awards Ceremony on February 14th, 2020 at Jungle Island’s Bloom Ballroom. The night was made possible through…

February 24, 2020

General Category Bluefin Fishery Temporary Closure

The General Category for Atlantic bluefin tuna will close beginning February 24th at 11:30pm and reopen on June 1st. This closure marks the fulfillment of the 100mt January subquota, which,…

February 20, 2020

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling Category Closure

The Angling Category for trophy Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Southern Area (the area south of Great Egg Inlet, New Jersey, 39°18’N lat) has already reached its 1.8 mt subquota,…

February 12, 2020

NMFS Removes Weak Hook Requirement

The 2011 required year-round use of weak hooks (15/0 carbon vs 16/0 steel for regularly used hook) by pelagic longline vessels fishing in the Gulf of Mexico was for 12…

February 10, 2020

NMFS Weakens Gear Restrictions in Atlantic Ocean

The Gear Restricted Area (GRA) off Cape Hatteras implemented to reduce bluefin tuna bycatch by pelagic longline vessels now is open to the gear. The waters had been closed December…

February 6, 2020

NOAA 2019 Commercial and Recreational Landings Updates

NOAA Fisheries announced the final landings updates for Atlantic swordfish and tunas, including bluefin. This update includes all fish landed between January 1st and December 31st, 2019. It also released…

February 5, 2020

NMFS Still Considering Gear and Quota Changes in Atlantic

Pelagic longline “research” decisions not yet issued that could authorize the gear to fish inside waters closed for 19 and 20 years off of Florida’s east coast, Charleston and in…

January 9, 2020

How to help those in Australia

The Billfish Foundation is in communication with BlueWater Magazine’s Tim Simpson (a TBF Board Member) in Australia who made it clear that the devastating fires continue impacting humans, including those…

January 8, 2020

TBF Welcomes Fishing Vacations as a Sailfish Level Sponsor

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is excited to announce and welcome aboard Fishing Vacations as a new sailfish level conservation partner. Fishing Vacations is a travel agency that focuses on offshore…

December 30, 2019

TBF’s Juvenile Billfish Project

TBF’s newest project focuses on juvenile billfish for very little is known about them during their early life stages due to high mortality rates and a lack of reliable tracking…

December 23, 2019

TBF’s Top Achievements in 2019

With the year coming to a close, we thank you for your support, as we reflect on key achievements in 2019. Please consider joining TBF, if not already on board,…

December 18, 2019

2019 Tag & Release Competition Winners

Each year The Billfish Foundation recognizes the best of the best in the billfishing community to acknowledge the significant effort they contribute to our Tag & Release Program and billfish conservation.…

December 17, 2019

Tropical Tuna Tagging Program Extended

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is looking for anglers and crews interested in tagging tuna in the Northern Atlantic. TBF is working with scientists from the Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging…

December 10, 2019

ICCAT Update – Reductions for Atlantic Marlin

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an international regional fishery management organization for highly migratory species (HMS) in the Atlantic, including billfish, tunas, and some…

December 6, 2019

A Win for HMS Conservation in the Pacific? Not So Fast…

While no action was taken by the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) at its November meeting to advance further consideration of its recently proposed measure to consider authorizing a…

December 4, 2019

Atlantic Swordfish and Bluefin Landings Update

NOAA Fisheries announced landings updates for Atlantic swordfish and bluefin tuna. This update includes all fish landed between January 1st and October 31st of this year. For swordfish, a total…

November 21, 2019

TBF’s Gamefish on Thrones Gala Recap

A multitude of characters, looking like they stepped straight out of Westeros, caused heads to spin and added lots of excitement to TBF’s gala, Gamefish on Thrones. Wildlings and Night’s…

November 18, 2019

Blue Marlin Satellite Tagging in the Gulf of Mexico

Because overfished Atlantic marlin receive no government research funding priority, large data gaps relating to their life history characteristics remain. Satellite tagging provides a means to fill some of the…

March 14, 2025

Partnering for Billfish Conservation: New Integrated Reporting System (VESL) Simplifies Data Collection

February 4, 2025

2025 TBF Artist of the Year – James Ferrara

February 4, 2025

New Tag & Release Category – TBF Legends

February 4, 2025

TBF 2025 Travel Schedule

January 15, 2025

Extreme Vessel Speed Reduction Rule Withdrawn

January 14, 2025

2025 TBF Award Ceremony

January 8, 2025

TBF’s First 12 Month SAT tag Recovery

January 5, 2025

GZ Lures Partners with The Billfish Foundation

December 7, 2024

The Skillie Project

December 5, 2024

Support TBF with a Year-End Gift

December 5, 2024

Batch Upload

December 5, 2024

TBF Holiday Gifts

November 12, 2024

2022-2023 Conservation Record is out!

November 12, 2024

2024 TBF Gala Recap

November 12, 2024

Online Holiday Auction (Nov 27th – Dec 2nd)

November 6, 2024

Anglers We Will Miss: Dr. C. Phillip Goodyear

October 7, 2024

Fall 2024 Youth Magazines Are Ready!

October 6, 2024

Fast Approaching: Deadline to Submit Tags and Releases for TBF’s Annual Competition

October 5, 2024

TBF’s PhD Scholar Explores Billfish Biology at Friday Harbor Labs

October 4, 2024

Join TBF’s Captain Program, Exclusive $50 Discount in October!

October 3, 2024

TBF Gala on November 1st!

September 18, 2024

TBF at Pirate’s Cove and MidAtlantic

September 17, 2024

New TBF Website!

September 16, 2024

TBF Gala: Wild West!

January 6, 2022

Atlantic Save the Mahi-Mahi Campaign

Led by Blair Wickstrom of Florida Sportsmans Magazine, targets the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (FMC) and NOAA, and calls for, by anglers, greater conservation restraints for mahi-mahi and wahoo,…

January 3, 2022

TBF’s Atlantic Shark Fishery Comments

The Billfish Foundation submitted comments to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today on the Draft Review of Atlantic Shark Fishery Review (SHARE) urging the revitalization of the Atlantic shark fishery…

June 24, 2020

NOAA Increases Commercial Swordfish Retention

NOAA Fisheries is doubling the number of swordfish allowed to be harvested by commercial fisheries. These expanded retention limits apply to vessels issued a Swordfish General Commercial permit or an…

May 1, 2020

Hard Caps Accepted for Pacific Gillnet Fishery

On February 7th, the National Marine Fisheries Service published a final ruling on the implementation of hard caps for drift gillnet fisheries (DGN) in the Pacific. These fisheries target thresher…

March 31, 2020

New Federal Rule Changes

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s recently issued its final decision on Gear Restricted Areas (GRA) and Weak Hook use by pelagic longline vessels. These decisions ARE NOT related to the…

February 12, 2020

NMFS Removes Weak Hook Requirement

The 2011 required year-round use of weak hooks (15/0 carbon vs 16/0 steel for regularly used hook) by pelagic longline vessels fishing in the Gulf of Mexico was for 12…

February 10, 2020

NMFS Weakens Gear Restrictions in Atlantic Ocean

The Gear Restricted Area (GRA) off Cape Hatteras implemented to reduce bluefin tuna bycatch by pelagic longline vessels now is open to the gear. The waters had been closed December…

February 5, 2020

NMFS Still Considering Gear and Quota Changes in Atlantic

Pelagic longline “research” decisions not yet issued that could authorize the gear to fish inside waters closed for 19 and 20 years off of Florida’s east coast, Charleston and in…

December 6, 2019

A Win for HMS Conservation in the Pacific? Not So Fast…

November 11, 2019

TBF Responds to New Pacific Fishery Management Council Initiative

The Pacific Fishery Management Counsel is proposing to authorize the use of shallow-set longline gear to fish for swordfish off the West Coast of the United States. Below are the…

October 30, 2019

NOAA Proposes Fishing Regulations in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA is considering an amendment to the current Fishery Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reef Resources in Gulf of Mexico. The amendment establishes new and modifies existing habitat areas…

October 4, 2019

FWC Supports TBF In Opposing NMFS Initiatives

The Billfish Foundation is encouraged by the comments made by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regarding the proposed actions of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS). As…

September 30, 2019

TBF Tells NMFS NO To Harming Billfish and Sportfishing

As promised, below are TBF’s final comments for the NMFS initiative that will potentially decimate billfish populations and harm the recreational fishing community. As a reminder, the new NMFS proposal…

September 27, 2019

New NMFS Initiatives Benefit Longlines and Harm Recreational Community

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing initiatives that once again ignore the recreational fishing community and do not benefit billfish conservation. NMFS seeks to reinvigorate commercial catch by…

September 19, 2019

New Gear Restrictions May Help Billfish in the Pacific

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission recently announced new requirements for fisheries targeting tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). These new regulations intend to reduce sea turtle bycatch but have…

September 9, 2019

Potential Changes to the NOAA HMS Fishery Management Plans

Earlier last week, NOAA Fisheries announced that they are considering changes to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan and we will be monitoring and reviewing this further and providing…

July 15, 2019

Proposed Modifications to Pelagic Longline Bluefin Tuna Area-Based and Weak Hook Management Measures

NMFS proposes to modify the one-month closed zone off New Jersey and the spring two-month gear restricted area in the Gulf of Mexico to become Monitoring Zones with an annual…

July 12, 2019

Options to maximize Bluefin Tuna in the Atlantic Ocean

Amendment 13 to the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan proposes many options striving to maximize utilization of the U.S. bluefin quota. Half of the options propose changes to the…

July 8, 2019

Help Keep Pelagic Longlines OUT of Closed Zones

The U.S. pelagic longline closed zones and gear restricted areas were established to reduce bycatch of juvenile swordfish by protecting nursery grounds, overfished marlin, sailfish, which remain overfished, large coastal…

June 27, 2019

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna In-Season Adjustment

June 12, 2019

New Exempted Fishing Permits for Longlines off US West Coast

Exempted Fishing Permits were issued by the Pacific Fishery Management Council on April 29, 2019 to two vessels to fish off the U.S. west coast in federal waters (Exclusive Economic Zone)…

June 4, 2019

NMFS Discussing New Ways to Allow Commercial Fishing Vessels Inside Closed Zones

NEEDS ALL ANGLERS ATTENTION – The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) launched a new and very comprehensive process for evaluating the success or inefficiencies of current Pelagic Longline Closed Zones…

May 14, 2019

Action Alert – Comments due for Forage Fish soon!

The Billfish Foundation submitted our comments to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to consider Bullet Tunas, Auxis rochei, and similar Frigate Mackerel, Auxis thazard to the dolphin/wahoo fishery management plan…

March 4, 2019

FADS FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO APPROVED

The Proposed Okaloosa County (north central Gulf of Mexico) recreational fishing Buoy/Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) System was approved as a means to improve catches of billfish and other species. The…

March 14, 2025

Partnering for Billfish Conservation: New Integrated Reporting System (VESL) Simplifies Data Collection

March 13, 2025

International Tagging Initiative

March 13, 2025

Annual Tag & Release Ceremony

November 6, 2024

Anglers We Will Miss: Dr. C. Phillip Goodyear

June 11, 2024

Recapture on Japanese Longliner!

March 10, 2024

New Striped Marlin Study

December 1, 2023

76th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Recap

May 4, 2023

Costa’s Marlin-Fly Project

For years, we have all heard about the amazing fishery and waters in Magdalena Bay, Mexico. From the hookups of doubles, triples, and quads of striped marlin with daily releases…

May 1, 2023

Pacific Striped Marlin Rebuilding Plan

Western & Central Northern Pacific striped marlin, whose abundance, especially spawning-stock biomass, and size are greatly diminished and retain low priority within the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).…

April 20, 2023

Wind lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico

The proposed sale is part of the leasing project announced by the DOI in 2021 to meet the Biden administration’s goal to deploy thirty gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity…

March 13, 2023

New Report of the Economic Contributions by Recreational Fishing Released

Last week, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) released the 2023 Economic Contributions of Recreational Fishing: U.S. Congressional Districts report, an update of previous data in partnership with Southwick Associates. The…

January 21, 2023

Gulf of Mexico Hotspots Mapping Initiative

NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are collaborating on a 5-year project to “evaluate the feasibility of bycatch hotspots” via communication networks in the Gulf of Mexico.…

December 6, 2022

Costa Rican Government Supports Sailfish Conservation

A Step in the Right Direction for Sailfish in Costa Rica If you’re expecting to come across sailfish meat in the Costa Rican Canasta Basica, then you’re unfortunately going to…

September 12, 2022

Gulf of Mexico Restoration Plan

Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, a group of federal representatives have continued to assess and develop recovery strategies for injured…

September 12, 2022

Costa Rica’s Tuna Reform Law – Billfish Impacts Uncertain

As reported recently in the Tico Times, a new Costa Rican tuna law requires all purse seine vessels (none of which are owned by Costa Rican interests) to fish outside of…

August 10, 2022

New Findings on Striped Marlin Migrations

The following was released by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and the Large Pelagics Research Center: The most comprehensive effort to date to characterize striped marlin (Kajikia audax) movements in the Central North…

August 10, 2022

Estimating Pelagic Longline Bycatch

Over the years, Dr. C. Phillip Goodyear, TBF’s billfish scientist has developed “species distribution models” for highly migratory species that estimate time-varying, three-dimensional distribution of habitat. These models are useful…

June 24, 2022

Fight Against Illegal Fishing by Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA)

Countries are robbed of an estimated $26-50 billion annually due to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). IUU fishing is defined as any fishing operations outside of current regulations…

June 15, 2022

Effects of Circle Hooks on Sharks and Rays – IATTC Review

In March of this year, the 1st Circle Hook Workshop of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) commenced. The goal was to analyze “scientific information regarding different circle hooks sizes…

June 3, 2022

Colombia and Panama Updates – June 2022

Sportfishing Banned in Colombia – Beginning in 2023 The Supreme Court of Colombia recently ruled that sportfishing, even catch and release, amounts to torture, thus prohibiting the sport in marine…

May 17, 2022

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling Category Gulf of Mexico Fishery Update

After 11:30 p.m., May 17, 2022, fishermen aboard Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling or HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may not retain, possess, or land large medium or giant Atlantic…

April 18, 2022

Help Reduce Atlantic Shark Depredation

The NMFS has achieved predator-rich relationships with sharks and other species beyond what some scientists describe as “equilibrium.” The result is heavy shark predation of other fish stocks important to…

March 1, 2021

Recreational Fishing Gear, Bottom Trawls & Pelagic Longline Gear Are NOT the Same!!

With the recent Executive Order (EO), recreational fishing gear, bottom trawls, and pelagic longline are viewed the same as all other fishing gear when it comes to designating Marine Protected…

September 8, 2020

Shark Populations Proving Detrimental to Sailfish Survival

Charter and private recreational fishing captains primarily are conscientious in practicing conservation-smart measures for their business depends on the availability of fish. Most billfishing captains practice catch and release, some…

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