2018 Tag & Release Competition Update
Here are the current standings in all categories (except Cape Verde, apologies, we’re working on it) as of October 5, 2018. Scroll through, find your name, find your friend’s name! Fishing for the competition year ends on October 31 and all reports must be in either digitally or mailed into the office by November 15. Winners will be announced via email and regular mail by mid-December. OVERALL RELEASE CAPTAIN Ben Horning – Jupiter, Florida, USA Ronnie Fields – Lake Park, Florida, USA Nicholas Gonzalez – Miami, Florida, USA Stuart Simpson – Durban, South Africa Dennis Endee –
Passing of a Legend – Capt. Ron Hamlin
Hamlin was recognized not only for his expertise at placing anglers from all over the world on billfish, but also for his contributions to billfish conservation. His expertise at the helm won him awards year after year, including the Billfish Foundation’s Top Captain Award, for which he stopped competing. After landing billfish for years during the early part of his career, he later recognized that continuation of his profession depended upon the availability of healthy stocks of fish in the water for clients to catch. He turned to catch and release fishing and became a voice for billfish conservation
Tag & Release Competition Update
Our annual Tag & Release competition is about 3/4 over and we will crown this year’s winners later this year at our Tag and Release Award Ceremony in February. We are highlighting the “Top Five” in many of the competition categories. This list constitutes the tag and release records processed by TBF as of July 16, 2018. We will post an updated version soon with the regional competitions. Do you know anyone on there? Are you in the top five and want to be recognized by the who’s who in the billfishing community at our ceremony? The end
Tag & Release Competition Winners Honored At Ceremony
The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Tag and Release Award winners, the “Who’s Who” in the billfishing world, were honored during the International Tag and Release Awards Ceremony at Miami’s Jungle Island on February 16, 2018. Over 40 award winners from all over the world – from as far away as the Seychelles Islands, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, France, and Gabon – came to be recognized as some of the top anglers, captains and mates for tagging and releasing the most billfish in our competition year. Earning one of these prestigious awards, produced and donated by King Sailfish Mounts, symbolizes a year
Announcing TBF’s 2017 Tag & Release Competition Winners
Each year The Billfish Foundation recognizes the best of the best in the billfishing community to acknowledge the significant effort they contribute to our Tag & Release Program and billfish conservation. Since its inception in 1990, the program has grown to accrue nearly 240,000 tag and release records to become the largest private billfish tagging database in the world. In the last year alone, TBF has collected nearly 15,000 records! The information gathered through tag and release efforts has been invaluable to help better manage billfish stocks, better understand these fish, and preserve the sport we love. This has
2014 TAG AND RELEASE CEREMONY RECAP
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 200 individuals. The 24th annual Tag and Release Ceremony was sponsored by Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund and the awards were presented by King Sailfish Mounts.  TBF would also like to thank all of our Tag and Release Program Sponsors (Casa Vieja Lodge, Costa Sunglasses, and Pelagic Gear) for sponsoring TBF’s cornerstone program for billfish conservation. The incredible ceremony would not be possible without the support of Deceiver Charters for sponsoring the open bar