FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA – June 8, 2015 – Today, The Billfish Foundation (TBF), the world’s leading sportfishing conservation organization, announced the winners of its prestigious Rybovich Lifetime…
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…
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…
The Billfish Foundation has received several inquiries regarding our annual tag and release competition. In response we have attached our specific rules for the competition. Additionally we have the individual…
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…
The most recent Atlantic blue marlin research completed by TBF’s Dr. Phillip Goodyear was published by the American Fisheries Society, the oldest, largest and most influential association of fisheries professionals…
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…
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…
Photo Courtesy of Chris Van Leeuwen The Offshore World Championship and The Billfish Foundation announced a partnership to advance billfish science last month. The project, including OWC, The Billfish Foundation,…
It has been more than four years since Australia began the process of designing and implementing its national system of marine reserves encompassing all of its federal waters. These reserves…
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…
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…
Over 100 guests attended the exclusive member’s only The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and International Seakeepers Society joint event to promote membership and announce a partnership between both organizations to collaborate on billfish conservation. The…
Each year, TBF relies on the sportfishing community across the world to report their billfish tag and release information. Since it began in 1990, TBF’s Tag & Release Program anglers,…
Each year, TBF relies on the sportfishing community across the world to report their billfish tag and release data. Since it began in 1990, TBF’s Tag & Release Program now…
No doubt, as the political debate increases over pros and cons of the United States normalizing relations with Cuba, anglers want to move forward to fish in Cuban waters. While…
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…
Family Fun Fest at Biscayne Bay National Park The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is always looking for new avenues to engage the public on its programs, especially young people. TBF had…
The Australian government is finally making due on their promise to reevaluate the proposed management plans for the country’s network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves. The initial management plans, released in…
Just when you thought you heard every crazy idea, here comes another one! In Costa Rica, the nation to which 283,790 Americans traveled in 2008 to sportfish, which generated $599…
Understanding fish movements and reproduction is highly important for sustainable fisheries management, including for black marlin. Since 2013, Samuel Williams a research student from the University of Queensland has worked…
Very much like NASCAR or a professional sports team, large investment opportunities and top notch fishing skills are heading offshore with the creation and launching of the Offshore Fishing League…
Whether it is billfish, tuna, or sharks, fishing for HMS species means finding blue water far offshore from the dock. Venturing offshore and pursuing big game fish requires larger boats,…
The tag and release reports are in and the results have finally been tallied. This year was truly a record year for billfish anglers and for TBF’s Tag & Release…
Photo Courtesy of Brian Toney The Hawaiian Islands are undoubtedly a special place for many reasons. In the eyes of many anglers, it is unique for being the only place…
An online reporting system will now be available for highly migratory species (HMS) fishing tournaments in the Atlantic Ocean, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced this week. HMS tournament operators…
One of the last billfishing competitions of the summer, the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament concluded this past weekend in Virginia Beach, VA. The tournament hosted 75 teams this year for…
The 46th Annual Old Salt Loop Billfish Tournament concluded in Clearwater, Florida this past weekend, wrapping up the Florida West Coast Bluewater Series (FWCBS) as it was the third and…
Earlier this month U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced legislation designed to enhance and protect Florida’s fishery resources and those who rely on them. The Florida…
Click here to submit comments to FL Senators Rubio and Nelson. Click here to submit comments to your US & FL House representatives and FL State Senators. Click here to…
After the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced today its approval of the Exempted Fishing Permit that allows longline boats to fish in Florida’s east coast closed zone, Ellen Peel, President…
On Tuesday NOAA released preliminary numbers for Atlantic billfish landings in 2017. The estimates show individuals caught (and reported) thus far in 2017, from January 1st through June 30th, for blue…
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Tuesday that they rejected a petition to list the Pacific bluefin tuna as an endangered species. A long list of environmental organizations combined efforts…
Appointed in June with support from over 55 commercial fishing companies and organizations, the new Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has a number of pressing issues…
Interns from The Billfish Foundation spent Thursday morning at South Broward High School with a group of incoming freshmen who are part of the marine magnet program. These students have…
As fisheries regulations develop, there is often the need for enforcement of compliance—enforcing gear restrictions, enforcing size limits, enforcing the return of non-target species, and ultimately enforcing the law. Ensuring…
Welcome to our Did You Know blog! Billfish and related species, like tuna and swordfish, are amazing creatures and set themselves apart from other fish. The Billfish Foundation would like…
Seafood is big business. Not only is it an industry that exchanges billions of dollars in trade globally, but the sector also trades an abundance of resources that contribute to food…
The National Marine Fisheries serviced announced that the recreational bluefin tuna harvest in the Gulf of Mexico has reached its quota and will close June 7, 2017 until the end of the…
The quota for bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico has been updated after a large individual was landed in a fishing tournament last week. Katie Gonsoulin pulled in a…
On May 18, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced Section 396, an amendment to the 2012 Billfish Conservation Act. The bill, initially introduced in February by U.S.…
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has begun a Scoping Process to consider allowing giant trawlers to increase their excessive landings of forage species off the Mid-Atlantic region, specifically chub (Tinker)…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has adjusted the Atlantic bluefintuna (BFT) daily retention limits that apply to vessels permitted in the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling category and the HMS…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will close the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery for large medium and giant “trophy” BFT (measuring 73” or greater) in the southern…
NMFS released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan in mid- February, 2017. A new Preferred Alternative (A6d) “requires…
The 2012 Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) has yet to be implemented and again is under Congressional review to attempt to resolve debated language so no Pacific billfish can be imported…
The NMFS has extended the deadline to March 29, 2017 for accepting public comments on the application for an Exempted Fishing Permit. If approved, six pelagic longline vessels will fish for three…
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission also opposes this, read their official comments below. Recently, the NMFS received an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application from Dr. David Kerstetter, Nova Southeastern…
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission also opposes this, read their official comments below. Recently, the NMFS received an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application from Dr. David Kerstetter, Nova Southeastern…
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…
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).…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
TBF's Winthrop P. Rockefeller's Student Ocean Intern Program awards students who support billfish conservation and believe in responsible fisheries management.
Which Way Will New Head of NMFS Sway On Longline Closed Zone?