Exempted Fishing Permits for East Coast Deep-Set Buoy Gear

NMFS issued 7 Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) for vessels to fish for BAYS tunas (bigeye, yellowfin albacore, skipjack) and swordfish in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic East Coast.  Six vessels are part of the Deepwater Horizon Pelagic Longline Bycatch Reduction Project; using funds from Gulf Restoration, oil spill settlement. The 6 vessels fishing only in the Gulf are pelagic longline vessels that voluntarily do not fish for 6 months a year because they are paid from Restoration funds. Gear options include deep-set buoy gear or greenstick gear. The vessel that also fishes off Florida’s East

TBF’s Atlantic Shark Depredation Campaign

No balance currently exists between the hugely successful Atlantic shark conservation and management of Atlantic shark fisheries –  people fishing, jobs, food markets, experiences, and economics.  Balance is needed. Shark depredation of angler-hooked fish from all platforms is occurring at unseen rates. Sharks damage gear, ruins fishing experiences, and causes negative economic impacts to the fishery and associated services. It is no longer safe to swim between boats, as sometimes needed for a crew member to help with a companion vessel’s problem.  Shark depredation will lessen only when fewer sharks remain in the water, which can be achieved

TBF’s Atlantic Shark Fishery Comments

The Billfish Foundation submitted comments to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today on the Draft Review of Atlantic Shark Fishery Review (SHARE) urging the revitalization of the Atlantic shark fishery and market. This 217-page reference document recounts past and present management actions responsible for the status of today’s U.S. Atlantic shark fishery. This document may be used to develop future conservation and management measures for commercial and recreational shark fisheries for the 43 currently managed and after review, we feel that without significant changes to the document we at are not supportive of it for future management actions

Announcing the 2021 Tag & Release Award 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 accrued over 270,000 tag and release records, becoming the largest private billfish tagging database in the world. In the last year alone, TBF has collected over 7,500 records! The information gathered through tag and release efforts are invaluable to increase our understanding and better our management of billfish and preserve the sport we love. This is only possible through the efforts

A Fish Conservation Business Opportunity Available

King Sailfish Mounts began nearly 30 years ago allowing sportsmen have a beautiful fish mount while knowing that they didn’t need to kill their trophy fish for it.  Before King Sailfish Mounts, nearly all marine gamefish mounted were based on a dead fish. It turned out to have been a good opportunity both for the business and the resource.  Now the majority of all marine fish mounts are based on a release. Since then, KSM has been credited for coining the phrase “Release Mounts” and is considered one of the most influential companies in its industry. They have

Workshop on December 7th regarding Offshore wind project impact

Input requested from anglers regarding potential impacts from offshore wind projects The Billfish Foundation just received word that The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is hosting the only workshop on December 7th at 10 am EST to understand and develop guidance to mitigate potential impacts from offshore wind projects on recreational fishing. They want to get insight and knowledge from the people and organizations that know and use these areas. Be sure to register since this will be one of your only chances to talk about this topic with the BOEM. Follow this link to Register for the workshop

Atlantic Sharks Seem to Be Everywhere Anglers Fish

Daily reports and postings of angler-caught fish bitten into or taken whole by Atlantic sharks, known as depredation, painfully and clearly demonstrates the result of one-sided management, which has produced excessive numbers of sharks off the East, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts. The angler-hooked species taken by sharks range from sheepshead to marlin and occur with fish hooked from shore, piers, small boats, and large boats. It seems to anglers there is no balance in Atlantic shark management, all titled in favor of shark conservation. Any additional shark abundance will worsen the negative impacts to recreational fishing, the

TBF’s Billfish In Space Party was Out of This World!

The ‘supreme orbit’ for space creatures and space beauties was found at TBF’s Billfish in Space Gala, which rocked all night long! Definitely the hottest party during the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Bacardi libations kept the grooves smooth as guests were entertained by the music from the Men in Black and satiated with pleasures from the Marriott’s top chefs. Life Time Achievement Awards were presented to two individuals for their decades of commitment to fish conservation, advancing responsible fishing practices, and billfish science.  Winners were: Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award –  John Brownlee and winner of the Winthrop

New Fishing Gear Used off California

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recommended and the NMFS authorized a single Exempted Fishing Permit for testing a new gear – Modified Snap – in federal waters off California. The gear, a significantly modified longline, will fish 5 nautical miles of horizontal line, which is much shorter than traditional longlines.  To help improve the survivability of bycatch species, the PFMC requires a four-hour maximum soak time, per set. TBF is not convinced the gear will actually fish cleaner. The gear is comprised of connected sections of line, each ranging from 300 to 500 meters in length, that will

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