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…
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…
Amendment 13 to the HMS Fishery Management Plan – Bluefin Tuna Earlier in May 2022, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its Final Environmental Impact Review (FEIR) of the…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced increases to all Fishing Categories and has now defined what those limitations are for the Angling Category. Several months prior, TBF requested the…
New Florida Mahi Mahi (Dolphinfish) Regulations Create Inconsistencies with Federal Regulations Currently, the federal South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) Amendment 10 for Dolphin-Wahoo allows 10 fish per person per…
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…
A few months back, TBF requested the NMFS increase the allocation of Atlantic bluefin tuna to all segments within the Recreational Fishing Category. In March 2022, the agency announced increases…
The National Marine Fisheries Service just announced a proposed rule that would establish a specific Restricted Fishing Day (RFD) schedule. Daily commercial bluefin tuna retention limits would be set to…
On March 10, 2022, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) submitted official comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service for Draft Amendment 14 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan regarding…
Just one day after the General Category closure, NMFS announced that on February 12, 2022, at 11:30 pm through December 31, 2022, the Southern Area Trophy Bluefin Fishery will be…
Capitol Hill must act as Atlantic sharks are everywhere taking angler-hooked fish, not occasionally, but all the time. The NMFS has no plans to check the occurrence other than to…
In September 2021, an article published in Marine Biology, Journal of Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters, was distributed by the NMFS as a paper and computer model that might…
NMFS issued 7 Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) for vessels to fish for BAYS tunas (bigeye, yellowfin albacore, skipjack) and swordfish in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic East…
No balance currently exists between the hugely successful Atlantic shark conservation and management of Atlantic shark fisheries – people fishing, jobs, food markets, experiences, and economics. Balance is needed. Shark…
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,…
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…
King Sailfish Mounts began nearly 30 years ago allowing sportsmen have a beautiful fish mount while knowing that they didn’t need to kill their trophy fish for it. Before King…
In support of Executive Order (EO) 13921, which calls for Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, in May 2020, NOAA just issued two extensive tools that may be used…
Input requested from anglers regarding potential impacts from offshore wind projects The Billfish Foundation just received word that The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is hosting the only workshop on…
Anglers remain steadfast in objecting to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) approval of Amendment 10 as written. The amendment is now with the Secretary of Commerce for final…
The member nations, including the U.S., of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the international treaty fishery management organization for Atlantic highly migratory species, approved a…
Daily reports and postings of angler-caught fish bitten into or taken whole by Atlantic sharks, known as depredation, painfully and clearly demonstrates the result of one-sided management, which has produced…
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recommended and the NMFS authorized a single Exempted Fishing Permit for testing a new gear – Modified Snap – in federal waters off California.…
A science paper published in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health, written by E. Houck et al., from North Carolina State University in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Center…
Currently, the NMFS is considering making many changes to the fishery management plan for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) – Bluefin Tuna. Redistributing tonnage allocations to each managed Fishing Category,…
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…
The Obama administration recently issued new rules that allow U.S. visitors going to Cuba to travel in their own boat, whether for hire or recreation, direct to Cuba. Some requirements…
It comes as good news to learn of CFOOD, a group of well respected scientists that came together “out of frustration with erroneous stories about fisheries sustainability” to “set the record…
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