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

Okaloosa County Moves Forward With FAD Buoy Project

Will Okaloosa County’s (in Florida’s panhandle) planned recreational fishing buoy system perform as a collection of fish aggregation devices (FADs) and draw lots of fish to significantly improve billfish catches like those experienced off Costa Rica? If so, the project might be the beginning of an economic boom for sportfishing eco-tourism in the region. The County also anticipates greater sportfishing activities and possibly increases in billfish and other tournaments in the county. Project funding includes $500,000 applied for from the Restore Act Fund, created after the Deep Water Horizon settlement. Two applications in that amount have been submitted