TBF Tells NMFS NO To Harming Billfish and Sportfishing
As promised, below are TBF’s final comments for the NMFS initiative that will potentially decimate billfish populations and harm the recreational fishing community. As a reminder, the new NMFS proposal is twofold: To read more about the proposal, click here. Most importantly, to add your comments telling NMFS NO to loosening gear restrictions and harming our community, click here. Comments are due by midnight tonight, September 30th
New Blue Marlin Study Illuminates Age-Length Relationship
A new TBF-supported study out of the University of Miami made great strides in understanding the relationship between age and growth of Atlantic blue marlin. The study examined growth annuli in anal fin spines of 1,638 blue marlin caught as bycatch in Venezuela to determine the age of each fish. Growth annuli are small rings inside of the fin spine that increase in number as the fish ages, much like the rings in a tree trunk. They then correlated this age information to the lower jaw fork length (LJFL) to determine how well LJFL predicts fish age. The study found
2019 Atlantic Billfish and Swordfish Landings Updates
As of August 20th, NOAA Fisheries finished compiling the second quarter updates for reported billfish (marlin, sailfish, and spearfish) and swordfish landings in the Atlantic. These landings include all billfish and swordfish landed from January 1st, 2019 through June 30th, 2019. With the tournament season well under way, a total of 39 blue marlin, 7 white marlin, and no roundscale spearfish have been landed. This is fairly on par with the 2018 second quarter landings, which boasted 37 blue marlin, 5 white marlin, and no roundscale spearfish. As such, there are 204 landings allowed for the remainder
Stricter Measures Not Included In NMFS Options For Longlines
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently issued a plan (Scoping Document, March 2018) to reinvigorate the longline fishery rather than proposing stricter conservation measures. If actions to reinvigorate the longline industry are approved, the seriously overfished Atlantic spawning bluefin tuna and marlin will continue to decline. Atlantic bluefin tuna and both white and blue marlin remain seriously overfished after decades of inadequate longline gear restraints, the gear responsible for much of the overfishing. The Billfish Foundation is calling for anglers and those in the recreational industry to submit comments to NMFS in opposition of a longline reinvigoration
