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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud to announce our new partnership with Release Marine! Release Marine has been a supporter of TBF for years but will now officially be solidifying…
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…
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…
Anglers, captains, and mates! The TBF International Tag and Release Competition will end on October 31st, 2019. All fish caught after that date will not count towards this year’s competition.…
NOAA Fisheries has released updated compliance guides for recreational fishing of highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean. These guides include detailed anatomical figures, identification charts, and species-specific bag limits,…
As of 11:30pm on October 13th, 2019, the general category Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery has closed. This closure will persist through November, which signifies the end of the current subquota…
NOAA fisheries announced third quarter landing updates for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, northern albacore, and swordfish. These landings include all fish landed commercially and recreationally by…
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…
Bags of trash collected during Miami Seaquarium’s beach cleanup to commemorate their 62nd anniversary The Billfish Foundation strives to support its local south Florida community and partners with like-minded organizations…
Highly migratory species, including tunas and billfish, travel the world’s oceans and traverse national boundaries. Regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) work at the international level to manage such species, bringing…
The Atlantic bluefin tuna General category fishery for large-medium and giant bluefin tuna (73 in. curved fork length or larger) closes September 17, 2017 for the remainder of the month.…
Nova Southeastern University’s longline research in Florida’s east coast closed zone may damage its reputation for community relations and science. An associate professor from the university was granted an exempted…
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…
Atlantic blue marlin are considered by many in the sportfishing world to be THE pinnacle gamefish. A species targeted by tens of thousands anglers each year. But what do we…
Sportfishing is an art/skill that cannot be mastered quickly. It takes time, energy, failure, and money to become an accomplished angler. The interesting aspect of fishing is the pressure that…
Hamlin was recognized not only for his expertise at placing anglers from all over the world on billfish, but also for his contributions to billfish conservation. His expertise at the…
Weed, Weed – too much of a good thing? Offshore anglers know seeing and fishing a floating Sargassum weed line is a good thing for it they usually are very…
The Billfish Foundation was the result of a movement led by anglers who began noticing there were fewer big fish to catch. At the time, billfish tournaments featured piles of…
The Billfish Foundation objects to the goal of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to revitalize the pelagic longline (PLL) fishery. Instead, TBF is calling for options that continue to…
Recent images from the island nation of Trinidad & Tobago have again brought attention to the plight of billfish in the Caribbean. The photos show over a dozen billfish that…
We all want that epic photo. Whether it’s the most beautiful bonefish you’ve ever reeled in, a tasty grouper you’ve pulled up from the reef, and especially the mighty sailfish…
More than 700 delegates from 47 member nations met in Marrakesh last week for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to discuss management strategies for several…
It was during the slow, hot days of a south Florida summer that The Billfish Foundation and Waterlust hatched a plan to boost each of their marine conservation efforts. The…
Team members from The Billfish Foundation joined in the Gulf & Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference held in Merida, Mexico last week. It was the 70th anniversary of the conference, where…
Humans have known for centuries that fish are attracted to floating objects. Fishermen have taken advantage of this behavior by fishing around palm fronds, seaweed patches, and any debris that…
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (and other highly migratory species, HMS) convened mid-September in Madrid, Spain specifically to discuss management of tropical tunas followed by the…
In a small coastal town on the French Riviera, fishing is now part of history, romanticized by the thousands of international holiday seekers making new use of the beaches and…
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…
When a Sea Shepherd boat cruised into Panama’s waters of the Coiba Special Zone of Marine Protection more than what meets the eye was at play. The U.S. environmental organization’s…
July 21, 2017 – Today Australia’s government released five Draft Management Plans for the Marine Parks within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, a UNESCO designated World Heritage site. The…
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…
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…
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 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced Monday that Japan has joined 57 other States in signing on to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). Entered into force…
The Fishery Commission in Panama is striving to close waters around Montuosa Island and the Hannibal Bank to recreational fishing even though those areas include some of the most productive…
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…
TBF's Winthrop P. Rockefeller's Student Ocean Intern Program awards students who support billfish conservation and believe in responsible fisheries management.
TBF Responds to New Pacific Fishery Management Council Initiative