Costa Rican Government Supports Sailfish Conservation

A Step in the Right Direction for Sailfish in Costa Rica If you’re expecting to come across sailfish meat in the Costa Rican Canasta Basica, then you’re unfortunately going to be disappointed. The Costa Rican government has denied the longline fisheries’ request to include sailfish meat among said list, a list which includes low-taxed food products common to a Costa Rican diet. This list, which is taxed at only 1% for the benefit of the consumer, has nearly 200 food and household items, of which the commonly seen seafood items can include mackerel filets, shark filets, tilapia

Update on the Closed Zones – October 2022

Decision on Closed Zones Coming Soon Unfortunately, we are still fighting against pelagic longlining being reopened within specific closed zones. As you might remember from last year, an announcement proposing the opening of parts of the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico Closed Zones to pelagic longlining was proposed as an option moving forward. It is now anticipated to be released very soon.  As we have advocated and challenged countless times, there is no sound science behind such a decision, especially in light of the negative impacts on billfish, tuna, marine mammals, and associated nurseries. To stay up

Is the US West Coast Going From Drift Gill Nets to Longlines?!?

This month the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) accepted applications for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) for which decisions will be made in September for the following fishing year. One application proposes to transition the current swordfish drift gillnet fishery to a longline fishery by allowing 19 longline vessels, shallow-set and deep-set longlines, to fish between 12 to 200 miles in federal waters off the U.S. West Coast, which TBF does not endorse this gear. Nine other permit applications were submitted, including Deep-Set Buoy Gear, Linked Buoy Gear, Night Set Buoy Gear including fishing in state waters, and Mid-Water

Recreational Fishing Gear, Bottom Trawls & Pelagic Longline Gear Are NOT the Same!!

With the recent Executive Order (EO), recreational fishing gear, bottom trawls, and pelagic longline are viewed the same as all other fishing gear when it comes to designating Marine Protected Areas (MPA). The EO, signed by Biden, calls for closing 30% of U.S. ocean waters to fishing, including recreational fishing, by 2030 through the MPAs. This is not the first time such a strategy has been raised, very large marine protected areas in various regulatory (marine monuments, wildlife refuges, sanctuaries, marine reserves, etc) forms have preceded the current initiative. Through the US Ocean Action Policy in 2006, the

NOAA Documents Negative Impacts on Fishing from COVID-19

NOAA Fisheries recently released economic impact figures caused by COVID-19 on the U.S. fishing and seafood industry, including wild harvest, aquaculture, and the recreational charter/for-hire sector.  Most recreational charter operations were completely shut down in most coastal states beginning in mid-March and began a phased re-openings starting in May. NOAA estimated Southeast charter revenues, relative to the preceding 3-year period, fell 72 percent between March through April due to local and state COVID-related closures and protocols. In May-June, as businesses began to re-open, revenue was reported down 4.5 percent. With many tournaments having cancelled, 50 fewer highly migratory species

Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Opened to Commercial Fishing

A recent Presidential Proclamation opened waters, closed in 2016, to commercial fishing inside the 5,000 square miles of the designated Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, located 130 miles off Cape Cod. The designation was made primarily to protect fragile and largely pristine, deep marine ecosystems and rich biodiversity, including deep sea corals, endangered whales and sea turtles, other marine mammals and numerous fish species. A proposed amendment prohibiting commercial bottom-tending gear from fishing inside the Monument would mitigate impacts on the fragile reefs. A much different situation exists with Closed Zones off the southeast coast and

Swordfish and Tunas Landings Update

NOAA Fisheries announced landings updates for Northern Atlantic swordfish and tunas, including bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, and northern albacore. This update includes all landings of these species from January 1 to January 31, 2020. Commercial swordfish intentional landings are generally on par with this time last year. However, commercial bycatch and recreational intentional landing of swordfish are up. However, these numbers are still very low. Northern Atlantic swordfish have two separate quotas. The commercial intentional fishery is allowed 1,318.8 mt dw of swordfish per year. The recreational fishery shares it’s quota with commercial bycatch and is limited to only

ICCAT Update – Reductions for Atlantic Marlin

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an international regional fishery management organization for highly migratory species (HMS) in the Atlantic, including billfish, tunas, and some sharks. Two additional, separate organizations for HMS operate in the Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean. These three organizations were established by treaties among member nations, which meet each year to negotiate landing tonnage, as well as other management and conservation measures. They each also gather scientists each year to conduct stock assessments and make recommendations, based on science, to the managing Commission before which national delegations from

NOAA Proposes Fishing Regulations in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA is considering an amendment to the current Fishery Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reef Resources in Gulf of Mexico. The amendment establishes new and modifies existing habitat areas of particular concern (HAPC), specifically coral habitats. An HAPC is a subset of essential fish habitat that is either ecologically important, sensitive to human degradation, currently stressed, or rare. Being essential fish habitat means that these coral reefs are essential to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity. With the potential passage of this amendment, NOAA hopes to protect these essential coral habitats against further degradation

Atlantic Tuna and Swordfish Landings Updates

NOAA fisheries announced third quarter landing updates for bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, northern albacore, and swordfish. These landings include all fish landed commercially and recreationally by United States vessels in the Atlantic Ocean from January 1st through August 31st, 2019. The changes as compared to last year are summarized below: More detailed summaries of the 2019 third quarter landings updates for each individual fish are also included below: Swordfish: Bluefin Tuna: Other Tuna: For more information on billfish and sportfishing news, subscribe to our newsletter, become a member, or follow us on social media