Pacific Striped Marlin Rebuilding Plan

Western & Central Northern Pacific striped marlin, whose abundance, especially spawning-stock biomass, and size are greatly diminished and retain low priority within the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). This regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) is tasked with the management of this and other highly migratory species. Unfortunately, its interim rebuilding plan for the species which includes goals to be achieved by 2034 has no chance of success. More aggressive conservation and management measures by WCPFC to reduce post-release mortality need to be considered, which can be done with little impact on longlines catching its targeted species

TBF’s Juvenile Billfish Project Update

At the end of 2019, The Billfish Foundation announced the Juvenile Billfish Project. The Juvenile Billfish Project was created with our friend Dr. Freddy Arocha to fill the massive gap in knowledge of the early lives of billfish. Billfish have high mortality rates in their juvenile stages and there is little known about where they breed and spawn. As a result, it is impossible to track and study them using regular tagging methods. The Juvenile Billfish Project asks TBF members worldwide to send in photos and information about their sightings of juvenile billfish. With this information, we hope

TBF’s Juvenile Billfish Project

TBF’s newest project focuses on juvenile billfish for very little is known about them during their early life stages due to high mortality rates and a lack of reliable tracking methods for fish of their size. A lack of information on juvenile and newborn billfish whereabouts and habits leaves their management and advocacy for their survival in jeopardy. TBF with our research partner Dr. Freddy Arocha, TBF’s research partner and recipient of TBF’s Paxson Offield Lifetime Science Achievement Award 2019, shared that “known images from juvenile billfish are rare, and more difficult is to find an image with the