The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is excited to announce the International Game Fish Tournament Observers (IGFTO) as a new Tag & Release Industry level sponsor. IGFTO support of our cornerstone program makes sense.…
Photo courtesy of Trey Russo/Miles Charlesworth The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is looking for anglers and crews interested in tagging tuna in the Northern Atlantic. TBF is working with scientists from…
Overall Award trophies 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…
T-H Marine Joins The Billfish Foundation as Tag and Release Program Sponsor Fort Lauderdale, FL – January 9, 2019 – T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., of Huntsville, Alabama, announces it has…
Courtesy of Jasen Gast – Rehab The Modern Fish Act (MFA), signed into law at the end of 2018, is to improve recreational fishing landings data, increase allocation of fish…
How many blue marlin are in the ocean? Counting them isn’t exactly feasible (though you could have fun trying!) so scientists rely on catches and how much effort these catches…
A nice yellowfin tuna caught off Panama Recreational fishing in Panama and throughout Central America is likely to feel negative impacts from a fishery partnership between Panama and China established…
Fly Navarro and Adrienne Katz with a nice mahi-mahi The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is considering management options to Amendment 10 on the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan. The…
Beginning January 1, 2019, all Atlantic highly migratory species tournaments will be required to submit catch summaries. An Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) tournament is a tournament that awards points…
Deep-set buoy gear finally has management alternatives for use in a swordfish fishery off southern California, where the fishery will be a limited entry to approximately 300 commercial vessels. Once…
Illustration courtesy of DRNEC of Delaware Chub mackerel, which are important prey species for billfish and other apex predators and to the healthy functioning of the ecosystem, are being considered…
What a night it was with Austin Powers and his entire cast of characters partying with other TBF friends at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort! Yeah Baby!!!! They shagged and…
Very late in the year and not anticipated, landing limits for Atlantic marlin were raised in the international arena. It was the overfished status of Atlantic billfish that became the…
The table below provides preliminary 2018 (January 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018) landings in numbers of fish for Atlantic blue and white marlin, roundscale spearfish, and western Atlantic sailfish. …
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…
TBF was very pleased when the National Marine Fisheries Service staff announced the 2018 amended Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) must comply with the agency’s official Guidelines. The amended BCA prohibits…
Good News Bluefin Tuna Anglers! The Angling Allocation of Atlantic bluefin tuna, beginning January 2019, increases by .3 of a metric ton or 661 pounds. This increase applies in each…
Here are the current standings in all categories (except Cape Verde, apologies, we’re working on it) as of October 5, 2018. Scroll through, find your name, find your friend’s name!…
California Governor Signs Historic Law Governor Jerry Brown of California signed into law an act passed by his legislator to begin the phase out use of mile long commercial drift…
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…
The Billfish Foundation’s newest Winthrop P. Rockefeller Ocean Program intern, Nick Becker, a recent graduate from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, worked with blue marlin tournaments out of…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is not issuing an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) that would open the east coast Florida closed zone to pelagic longline vessels for the stated…
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released their preliminary 2018 (January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018) landings in numbers of fish for Atlantic blue and white marlin, roundscale…
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…
Members and friends of The Billfish Foundation have a long tradition of generous giving to support the many vital programs furthering the mission of conserving billfish worldwide. Since its founding…
Over the past 26 years, the sportfishing community has provided The Billfish Foundation (TBF) with over 220,000 tag and release records, making it the largest private billfish database worldwide. The data received helps marine researchers gain insight…
Over the past 26 years, the sportfishing community has provided The Billfish Foundation (TBF) with over 220,000 tag and release records, making it the largest private billfish database worldwide. The data received helps marine researchers gain insight…
Fall is almost here, and that means the competition year is winding down. Here are the current standings for the 2016 International Tag & Release competition. Those of you in…
Tournament season is coming to a close which means opportunities to get out there are getting fewer and the competition is stiff. Here are the current standings for the 2016…
TBF’s Gulf of Mexico Blue Marlin Satellite Tagging Expedition, staged out of Port Eads, which is 84.5 miles south of New Orleans, 24 miles south of the southernmost road in…
Do you remember where, when, and what you used to catch the first fish that got you “hooked” on fishing? Who were you with and how did that singular experience…
The Billfish Foundation’s newest International Billfish Conservation Record is now available digitally! The Conservation Record includes the 2014 Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, summary of all tag, release & recapture…
Be a Conservation Hero, Support TBF’s Satellite Tagging Expedition! Review the proposal to the right or contact us today to receive a copy by email or in the mail! [email protected]
Due to popular demand of our current regional awards in South Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, TBF is excited to announce the expansion of our regional competitions to include Cape Verde and the Hawaiian Islands. These…
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…
Courtesy of the Big Oh For the past several years, winners of TBF’s International Tag & Release Competition blue marlin categories have all come out of Cape Verde and it…
Just when it seems that the excitement from last year’s Tag & Release Award Ceremony has begun to wind down, we’ve started ramping up for the 2016 competition. This year…
The Billfish Foundation is pleased to make available our annual Conservation Record, noting 2013 Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, 2013 Tag & Release Competition winners, and data analysis from this year’s…
Anglers, captains and mates worldwide are the vital elements needed to provide The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Tag and Release program the valuable data required to further billfish science and ensure…
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL- Anglers, captains and mates worldwide are the vital elements needed to provide The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Tag and Release program the valuable data required to further billfish…
Being a part of the sportfishing community and having an opportunities to work alongside our Tag & Release Program sponsors as well as captains and anglers, to put our initiatives…
Anniversary Year Dedicated to Today’s Youth …Our Legacy must be a Billfishing Future for Them! TBF’s Herbert Nanne, Central American Conservation Director, worked tirelessly for three years to have the…
If you fished offshore 30 years ago you likely remember seeing at tournaments billfish, especially blue marlin, stacked in piles on the docks after anglers posed for photos with their…
We at TBF are proud to present Nick Mayer as our 2016 Artist of the Year. This year marks The Billfish Foundation’s 30th Anniversary, so we wanted a unique work…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is extremely excited to announce and welcome aboard the Marina Casa de Campo as a new Tag & Release Industry sponsor. Located in the beautiful Dominican Republic, and conveniently…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is extremely excited to announce and welcome aboard the International Game Fish Tournament Observers (IGFTO) as a new Tag & Release Community sponsor. IGFTO’s team of highly trained…
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…
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…
The Caribbean Billfish Project, a $1.95 million exercise supported by the UN and the World Bank, and executed by the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC) in Barbados, proposes a…
Anglers from Spain are prohibited this year, as are their commercial fishing vessels, from landing Atlantic blue marlin because the nation’s commercial fishing vessels exceeded their 2015 blue marlin quota.…
Sam Williams from the University of Queensland is collaborating with Dr Julian Pepperell in mapping the global genetics of black marlin. We greatly appreciate your assistance in collecting tissue for…
Peter Chaibongsai, representing TBF at a meeting of the U.S. Advisory Committee to Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), an international organization with authority over highly migratory fish in the eastern Pacific…
The Billfish Foundation’s newest International Billfish Conservation Record is now available digitally! The Conservation Record includes the 2014 Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, summary of all tag, release & recapture…
The Billfish Foundation regularly represents recreational interests and discusses issues surrounding management of billfish and tuna here in US Atlantic waters. This past month, a number of important topics including…
Courtesy of the Big Oh For the past several years, winners of TBF’s International Tag & Release Competition blue marlin categories have all come out of Cape Verde and it…
The Billfish Foundation is pleased to make available our annual Conservation Record, noting 2013 Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, 2013 Tag & Release Competition winners, and data analysis from this year’s…
Being a part of the sportfishing community and having an opportunities to work alongside our Tag & Release Program sponsors as well as captains and anglers, to put our initiatives…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is extremely excited to announce and welcome aboard the Marina Casa de Campo as a new Tag & Release Industry sponsor. Located in the beautiful Dominican Republic, and conveniently…
When the US was in the midst of a recession (2007 – 2009), TBF saw a significant reduction in tag and release reports, and it comes as no surprise; the…
TBF's Winthrop P. Rockefeller's Student Ocean Intern Program awards students who support billfish conservation and believe in responsible fisheries management.
Draft Management Plans for Australia Allows for Recreational Fishing