The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Tuesday that they rejected a petition to list the Pacific bluefin tuna as an endangered species. A long list of environmental organizations combined efforts…
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…
Appointed in June with support from over 55 commercial fishing companies and organizations, the new Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has a number of pressing issues…
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…
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…
As fisheries regulations develop, there is often the need for enforcement of compliance—enforcing gear restrictions, enforcing size limits, enforcing the return of non-target species, and ultimately enforcing the law. Ensuring…
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…
Seafood is big business. Not only is it an industry that exchanges billions of dollars in trade globally, but the sector also trades an abundance of resources that contribute to food…
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…
The quota for bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico has been updated after a large individual was landed in a fishing tournament last week. Katie Gonsoulin pulled in a…
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…
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…
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has begun a Scoping Process to consider allowing giant trawlers to increase their excessive landings of forage species off the Mid-Atlantic region, specifically chub (Tinker)…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has adjusted the Atlantic bluefintuna (BFT) daily retention limits that apply to vessels permitted in the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling category and the HMS…
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will close the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery for large medium and giant “trophy” BFT (measuring 73” or greater) in the southern…
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…
NMFS released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan in mid- February, 2017. A new Preferred Alternative (A6d) “requires…
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 NMFS has extended the deadline to March 29, 2017 for accepting public comments on the application for an Exempted Fishing Permit. If approved, six pelagic longline vessels will fish for three…
The Billfish Foundation’s most prestigious award, the Rybovich Lifetime Conservation Award, is named in honor of the late John Rybovich, a pioneer in billfish conservation and sportfishing vessel design. This…
Photo courtesy of Laurent Cherubin Did you know that removing a billfish from the water not only causes unnecessary harm to the fish, but in the Atlantic it is illegal…
Winter is approaching and that means one thing for us down here in South Florida, the return of the world class sailfish bite. Anglers begin to anticipate the onset of…
Every year, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) recognizes the captains, mates and anglers (including youth and ladies) who tag and release the most billfish in each of the world’s oceans. The…
Have you ever wondered who the best anglers, captains and crews are here in South Florida? Some boats might have their luck at a two day tournament, but what about…
Eat, drink, and bid on items to help support billfish conservation! Check out some of the pictures and fun everyone had from last year’s “Night Under the
Every year, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) recognizes the captains, mates and anglers (including youth and ladies) who tag and release the most billfish in each of the world’s oceans. The…
The Billfish Foundation’s 2014 International Billfish Conservation Record is now available for purchase on TBF’s Online Shopping Cart. This publication is dedicated to the late Dr. Russell Nelson, a nationally…
Every year, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) recognizes the captains, mates and anglers (including youth and ladies) who tag and release the most billfish in each of the world’s oceans. The…
TBF is proud to announce Simrad, world-leader in the design and manufacturer of marine electronics, has joined The Billfish Foundation as a 2014 Tag and Release Program sponsor. Simrad Yachting’s…
Whether a novice or tournament pro, every angler out there should consider themselves very fortunate to have the opportunity to tag and release a billfish. Just seeing a marlin or…
If you ask any serious offshore angler where the best billfish action in the world is, chances are Casa Vieja Lodge (CVL) and Guatemala are one of the first answers…
Three of our youngest members from Massachusetts recently stopped by our offices to drop off a donation to The Billfish Foundation (TBF) that they procured earlier this year. Miles Buddenhagen,…
On February 13, 2014 The Billfish Foundation honored conservation achievements at the 2014 Tag and Release Ceremony held at Miami’s Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom in front of a crowd of more than…
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud to announce that Casa Vieja Lodge is TBF’s newest Tag and Release Program partner. They join King Sailfish Mounts, Pelagic Gear, and Bisbee’s Black…
On January 10,The Billfish Foundation (TBF) submitted official comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for Draft Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for…
The Billfish Foundation is proud to announce the Award Winners for the 2013 Tag and Release Competition. This year TBF received nearly 7,500 tag and release reports from all over…
We asked for some of your best fishing videos and man did you guys respond! Each month, TBF and TrollPro.com would love to see your fishing videos and you could win a…
In October, the students in South Broward High School’s Marine Policy class participated in their annual mock debates about billfish policy as they worked together to create a management plan…
Russell Nelson, The Billfish Foundation’s Chief Scientist and a former leader of the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission, has passed away. His unexpected death is a loss to those who knew…
Look for TBF at the 54th edition of The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show(FLIBS) running from Thursday, October 31st – Monday November, 4th. FLIBS promoters forecast this year’s event to…
Will Okaloosa County’s (in Florida’s panhandle) planned recreational fishing buoy system perform as a collection of fish aggregation devices (FADs) and draw lots of fish to significantly improve billfish catches…
Last year’s halting of the federally permitted longline research inside a zone closed to the gear for 16 years off Florida’s east coast was a positive step for conservation and…
Management of sailfish in the Atlantic Ocean falls under the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), which is responsible for tuna and associated species like billfish. The…
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…
TBF's Winthrop P. Rockefeller's Student Ocean Intern Program awards students who support billfish conservation and believe in responsible fisheries management.
Which Way Will New Head of NMFS Sway On Longline Closed Zone?