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…
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…
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…
NOAA Fisheries has decided to close the Angling category fishery for large-medium and giant, “trophy,” Atlantic bluefin tuna in the southern area, beginning March 17, 2018 and lasting the rest…
The National Marine Fisheries Service this week released its fourth quarter update on 2017 recreational billfish landings, rounding out landing estimates for the year. These landing numbers come from a…
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) considered over 600 written comments and heard public testimony last week, before voting to send a letter to NOAA Fisheries expressing their concerns…
The National Marine Fisheries Service transferred 10 metric tons (2,2046 pounds) of Atlantic bluefin tuna quota from the Reserve category to the General January sub-category, until that quota is landed…
Note: the SAFMC public comment period ended on the day of the meeting, March 7, 2018. More comment periods will be coming, stay up to date by subscribing to our…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) finally announced as “invalid” the Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) issued last year to a Nova Southeastern University (NSU) scientist granting permission to longline within…
Preliminary National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) statistics comparing Atlantic bluefin tuna landings in December 2017 to December 2016 indicate more fish were landed in 2017, but smaller in size and…
A group of anglers were rescued off the Boynton Beach Inlet Saturday morning after their boat was allegedly sunk by a massive marlin. However, their story has since been called…
The Billfish Foundation was honored to join the 55th annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament as a benefiting charity this year. The tournament, held at Sailfish Marina in West Palm Beach,…
NOVA Southeastern University Scientist and assistant professor, David W. Kerstetter, who received a federal Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) in 2017 to conduct longline research in Florida’s east coast closed zone,…
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…
The Southeast Permits Office of NOAA Fisheries is reminding permit holders that all limited access permits must be renewed by the termination date printed on the front of the permit.…
Beginning January 5, 2018, NOAA Fisheries will require vessels with Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permits to also obtain a “commercial sale” endorsement in order to sell any catch of…
The National Marine Fisheries Service has decided to close the General category fishery for large, medium, and giant Atlantic bluefin tuna for the rest of the year. The closure takes…
The Atlantic bluefin tuna General fishery will reopen December 1 for the first time since early October, thanks to a transfer of quota. NOAA Fisheries is transferring 25.6 mt from…
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…
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…
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
TBF's Winthrop P. Rockefeller's Student Ocean Intern Program awards students who support billfish conservation and believe in responsible fisheries management.
