Sailfish Conservation Record 2019

The Billfish Foundation maintains the largest private tag and release database in the world, with over 260,000 records. In 2019 alone, over 11,000 new tag, release, and recapture records were added to this database, representing an enormous amount of data to help us learn more about billfish life history. Of these over 11,000 new records in 2019, 5,280 were of sailfish, including an incredible 34 sailfish recaptures. 73.6% of sailfish were released without tags, while 26.4% were tagged. To learn more about how to identify a sailfish, check out our youtube channel! An incredible 1,385 sailfish were tagged

How to help those in Australia

The Billfish Foundation is in communication with BlueWater Magazine’s Tim Simpson  (a TBF Board Member) in Australia who made it clear that the devastating fires continue impacting humans, including those in the sportfishing community, property, and wildlife at levels never before seen. Travel to the New South Wales Coast and to the coast of the northeastern Victoria area, just over the border, are not possible or recommended as the fires continue to fill the sky with thick smoke and ash. BlueWater Magazine will include features on the fires in its upcoming issues and has commissioned custom lures to help

Australia’s First Grander Blue Marlin Caught New Year’s Day

The first day of the year could very well be the best day of the year for a group of anglers in Australia. On January 1, 2018 Captain Eddy Lawler and crew of Black Marlin caught a 1,089-pound blue marlin off Exmouth, Western Australia. It was the first grander blue marlin (those 1,000 lbs or greater) caught in Australia, and the first anywhere in the world for 2018. Anglers Hayley Dellar, Leigh Freestone, and Clay Hilbert were on board that day, all of whom are part of The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release database. Hilbert is credited with fighting