THE JOHN RYBOVICH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD The award is named in honor of a former board member and pioneer in billfish conservation, who founded the Sailfish Conservation Club, the Masters…
TBF welcomes T.J. Morrell to the team as our Science/Education Specialist. He will be responsible for showcasing the importance of tagging and releasing and leads in the development of educational…
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…
The Billfish Foundation’s 2022 Tag & Release Awards Ceremony took place on February 18th at Jungle Island to celebrate and highlight the achievement of some of the top anglers, captains…
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…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is excited to announce that Boaters List, out of San Antonio, Texas, is a new sponsor of TBF’s cornerstone program, our Tag and Release program. Widely…
For over 40 years of my life, I never considered myself an artist. I didn’t take art classes, grab a pencil and paper and sketch didn’t paint or want to…
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…
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.…
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 ‘supreme orbit’ for space creatures and space beauties was found at TBF’s Billfish in Space Gala, which rocked all night long! Definitely the hottest party during the Ft. Lauderdale…
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…
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 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…
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…
In July, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) drafted a proposal to create a recreational limit for blackfin tuna in Florida and the surrounding federal waters. In it’s…
The Billfish Foundation is encouraged by the comments made by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regarding the proposed actions of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS). As…
As promised, below are TBF’s final comments for the NMFS initiative that will potentially decimate billfish populations and harm the recreational fishing community. As a reminder, the new NMFS proposal…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing initiatives that once again ignore the recreational fishing community and do not benefit billfish conservation. NMFS seeks to reinvigorate commercial catch by…
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission recently announced new requirements for fisheries targeting tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). These new regulations intend to reduce sea turtle bycatch but have…
A new TBF-supported study out of the University of Miami made great strides in understanding the relationship between age and growth of Atlantic blue marlin. The study examined growth annuli…
NOAA Fisheries announced new 2019 baseline quotas for North Atlantic albacore tuna, North and South Atlantic swordfish, and Atlantic bluefin tuna (reserve category). These updates come as a result of…
Earlier last week, NOAA Fisheries announced that they are considering changes to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan and we will be monitoring and reviewing this further and providing…
As of August 20th, NOAA Fisheries finished compiling the second quarter updates for reported billfish (marlin, sailfish, and spearfish) and swordfish landings in the Atlantic. These landings include all billfish…
Just two days after the Harpoon category closure, NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Department has announced the closure of the General category for Atlantic bluefin tuna. As of 11:30pm on…
NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Department announced today the closure of the Harpoon category for Atlantic bluefin tuna due to the 91 metric ton quota being met. This closure comes…
Fifteen metric tons of Atlantic bluefin tuna quota was transferred from the Reserve Category to the Harpoon Category, bringing the total tonnage for the category to 91 metric tons and…
The first action plan from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is a proposed Amendment 13 for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna that included a tremendous array of options to modify how Atlantic…
TBF’s most recent satellite tagging expedition kicked off with a fantastic crowd all interested in learning more about blue marlin in the Gulf of Mexico and how to help with…
The Billfish Foundation is currently engaging in a research project with Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Program (AOTTP) in order to further the knowledge around lifecycles of yellowfin, bigeye, and…
NMFS proposes to modify the one-month closed zone off New Jersey and the spring two-month gear restricted area in the Gulf of Mexico to become Monitoring Zones with an annual…
Amendment 13 to the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan proposes many options striving to maximize utilization of the U.S. bluefin quota. Half of the options propose changes to the…
The June 2019 assessment of white marlin’s relative abundance remaining in the water offered mixed results, “overfishing” had stopped, but the authorized catch limit is still being exceeded. So management…
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.…
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…
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…
This summer’s Gulf of Mexico’s tournament season began “white hot” with good numbers of marlin, including large ones, and bluefin tuna, which presented unexpected excitement for anglers in the region.…
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…
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…
Regrettably, the recent La Presna article dated August 16, 2015 that quotes Ivan Flores, Manager of the Aquatic Resources and Fisheries Authority (ARAP), did not focus on the sustainable use…
TBF’s Dr. Phil Goodyear, is currently advancing research to use oceanographic data and information recovered from earlier satellite tagging research to predict Atlantic blue marlin distributions in time (month, year,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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