We are excited to announce the Mid-Atlantic as the newest regional category for TBF’s annual Tag & Release Competition. An important fishery here in the United States, the Mid-Atlantic category will extend from Virginia to the southern tip of New York, adding on as a regional category alongside South Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and Hawaii! By including this new region to our annual competition, we’re thrilled to start collecting more invaluable data and begin to recognize all those incredible captains, anglers and crews who fish there.

COMPETITION DATES: November 1 – October 31 of the following year.

DEADLINE: All Tagging Data Report and Release Notification Cards must be received by TBF no later than November 15th, whether via mail or online at www.tagbillfish.org.

ELIGIBILITY: Anglers, captains and mates MUST be a current TBF member to receive an award based on their submitted Tagging Data Report and Release Notification Cards. Regardless of membership, all data from every card is valuable for billfish research and membership is not required if you wish submit your tag & release data. You can check your membership status or join TBF by visiting here. If you have registered with our online tag and release database, you can also see if your membership is current through your profile page. To join or renew at www.billfish.org.

Charter captains must have a valid captain’s license and all necessary licenses for a documented charter vessel. Tags must be deployed on the same vessel in order to be counted for charter categories. Overall tag and release categories are calculated as the total number of eligible species reported tagged and or released by a captain or angler.

ELIGIBLE SPECIES: Only blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, spearfish, and swordfish are eligible species within this category. Winners will be the angler or captain that tags or releases the greatest number of eligible species for the respective category.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Cards should be submitted to TBF as soon as possible or entered online at www.tagbillfish.org. For timeliness and efficiency, online submission if the quickest and most reliable method, but you’re also welcome to mail your cards directly to TBF. As a note, if you wait until the end of the competition year to send your cards, you run the risk of not having your cards reach TBF by the deadline. TBF also reserves the right to disqualify any participant if circumstances indicate there is reason to question reports.

TAGGING – Captains and Anglers Awards are presented to those who tag the most billfish of each species within each category after having met the 5 fish minimum, with the exception of youth anglers (see Youth rules below).

RELEASE – Captain and Angler Awards are presented to those who release, without tagging, the most billfish of each species within each category after having met the 5 fish minimum, with the exception of youth anglers (see youth anglers below).

CATEGORIES

PLEASE NOTE: Fish that are tagged and released are NOT counted in the Release Category. These fish are only counted in the Tagging Category.

PRIVATE VS. CHARTER

Any records submitted for eligible species tagged and or released on a registered charter boat are only eligible for charter captain and charter boat categories. Charter captains must have a valid captain’s license and all necessary licenses for a documented charter vessel. Tag and release must be deployed on the same vessel in order to be counted for charter categories. Any tag or release records for billfish caught during a non-for-hire trip, but on a registered charter boat, are only eligible for charter categories. Proper documentation and proof of charter status must be presented if requested by TBF.

YOUTH

Awards are presented to youth anglers who tag and/or release the most billfish of any species within each age category after having met the minimum of 3 fish. Categories include: ages 8 & younger, 9-10, 11-12, 13-15 and 16-17. (Please note: To enter the competition all youth anglers MUST write in their date of birth next to their name or in the space provided, or if reporting via tagbillfish.org please include date of birth when creating user profile.) Youth anglers must be active TBF members to win.

FEMALE

Awards are presented to the female anglers who tag and release the most billfish.

MATES

TBF recognizes the valuable contribution of mates in both the release and tagging of billfish through TBF’s Mate Recognition Program, a cumulative, on-going program that awards mates with a plaque for his or her level of achievement.

Proper Tagging Procedure & Tagging at Tournaments

The post-release survival of billfish is vital and TBF urges that proper tagging procedures are used when tagging any billfish to ensure safe, healthy releases (see TBF’s Tag & Release Guide). Improper tag placement, ‘speed tagging’ or using too much force when tagging can result in serious injury or death to the fish. For this reason TBF does not encourage tagging during tournaments. However, if a boat chooses to tag any billfish during a tournament they will be counted toward any applicable regional competition as well as the International Tag & Release Competition.

Visit the following links for needed information on how to properly fill out a tag card or to purchase tagging equipment.