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…
This year was truly a great year for the billfishing community and for TBF’s Tag & Release Program with more reports of tagged and released fish than in several years. Below…
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…
In recent years, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has taken great steps to recognize the importance of recreational fishing across the nation and their research continues to reveal the substantial…
For more than 25 years, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including…
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…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is extremely excited to announce and welcome aboard YETI Coolers as a new Tag & Release Program sponsor. A leader in the outdoor recreational industry, YETI…
This past June, Biscayne National Park released its new General Management Plan (GMP) to guide actions over the next 20 years in preserving and protecting the shallow water coral reef…
The NMFS recently released its Discussion Draft Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Policy to serve as guiding principles for the agency’s decision making over the long term. NOAA defines EBFM “as…
The Billfish Foundation recently sent a survey to its members in order to better understand the concerns and wants of our constituents. Over 100 responses have been recorded, which TBF…
The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Tag and Release Award winners, the “Who’s Who” in the billfishing world, were honored during the International Tag and Release Awards Ceremony at Miami’s Jungle Island on February…
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…
Members of The Billfish Foundation team spent a full Saturday at the Sailfish Brewing Co. in Fort Pierce, Florida for Labor Day weekend activities. The brewery hosted a Tag &…
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…
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…
We may still be highlighting last year’s award winners, but the Tag & Release Competition update as it stands. Don’t forget, these positions will be shifting constantly until the final…
Today, The Billfish Foundation (TBF), the world’s leading sportfishing conservation organization for marlin, sailfish, spearfish and associated highly migratory fish, announces this year’s winners of its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards…
Two new lifetime achievement awards have been added to TBF’s annual recognition of excellence in advancing billfish conservation. The first new award is the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Individual Lifetime Achievement…
TBF proudly announces the selection of South Florida native Dennis Friel as its 2017 Artist of the Year. “Combustion” by Dennis Friel Dennis fondly recalls “as a kid growing up…
A recently released analysis of the NMFS Cooperative Tagging Program between January 2006 and December 2015 by Caitlyn Savoia, a graduate student at the University of Miami, documented that during…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) proudly announces that 20echo is its newest Tag and Release Program sponsor, joining Casa Vieja Lodge, Costa Sunglasses, Garmin, King Sailfish Mounts, Pelagic Gear, and Yeti in support of the scientific data collecting program.…
The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Tag and Release Award winners, the “who’s who” in the billfishing world will be honored during the International Tag and Release Awards Ceremony at Miami’s Jungle…
TBF’s “Back to the 80’s, When it all Began” 30th Anniversary Gala was a fun success! TBF’s annual party has become THE sportfishing event to attend during the week of…
Our success would not have been possible without the support of countless individuals and organizations. Please take a few moments to review the many ways you can give financially to…
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…
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…
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.
Draft Management Plans for Australia Allows for Recreational Fishing