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…
NOAA Fisheries recently released an updated estimate of recreational billfish landings in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as commercial and recreational landings of swordfish, thus far in 2017. From January…
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…
We now know a little bit more about the massive marlin that was caught off Hawaii nearly a decade ago. On September 1, 2009, three anglers landed a blue marlin…
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…
Following the wrath of Hurricane Irma came the destruction: downed trees, debris thrown across roadways, docks uplifted from their posts, boats sunken or tossed on land, and in some cases…
The Atlantic bluefin tuna General category fishery for large-medium and giant bluefin tuna closes Thursday October 5, 2017 for roughly two months. This comes just four days after the October…
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…
TBF thanks its constituents for their continued support in keeping this issue at the forefront. Join the TBF community today to be part of our efforts on matters like
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…
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…
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.…
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 &…
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…
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…
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 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…
Photo Courtesy of Big OH & Camila Sanches Tag & Release cards are really starting to come in and TBF’s annual Tag and Release Competition is heating up with less…
TBF’s “conservation and responsible use” philosophy applauds anglers big enough to release the big marlin girls that are estimated at boat side to weigh 750 pounds and up. To honor…
Learn about all the tag and release data The Billfish Foundation received in the calendar year of 2013. The report highlights all those anglers and captains who participated in the…
Sportfishing is quickly becoming a growing force, not just in the United States, but internationally. This past July, more than 13,000 representatives of the global sportfishing industry came together once…
PAXSON “PACKY” OFFIELD, former chairman of The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) board of directors, passed away Sunday June 14th at his home in Michigan. In 2011, Offield was the recipient of…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA – June 8, 2015 – Today, The Billfish Foundation (TBF), the world’s leading sportfishing conservation organization, announced the winners of its prestigious Rybovich Lifetime…
The Billfish Foundation has received several inquiries regarding our annual tag and release competition. In response we have attached our specific rules for the competition. Additionally we have the individual…
Photo Courtesy of Chris Van Leeuwen The Offshore World Championship and The Billfish Foundation announced a partnership to advance billfish science last month. The project, including OWC, The Billfish Foundation,…
Over 100 guests attended the exclusive member’s only The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and International Seakeepers Society joint event to promote membership and announce a partnership between both organizations to collaborate on billfish conservation. The…
Each year, TBF relies on the sportfishing community across the world to report their billfish tag and release information. Since it began in 1990, TBF’s Tag & Release Program anglers,…
Each year, TBF relies on the sportfishing community across the world to report their billfish tag and release data. Since it began in 1990, TBF’s Tag & Release Program now…
The tag and release reports are in and the results have finally been tallied. This year was truly a record year for billfish anglers and for TBF’s Tag & Release…
Anglers are the ones who can truly make a difference for the future of our billfish species. They’re the ones out there, every day, in all kinds of conditions and…
The Enchanted Forest’s Top Event Sponsors “Heroes for the 2014 Gala” Louisiana Cat • Bacardi Dragonfly Boatworks • Cox Maritime Law • Casa de Campo Marina Garmin • One Vanilla…
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…
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.
