This past November, TBF staff members attended the 66th Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) conference hosted by the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies of Texas A&M University. More than 400 scientists, marine managers, fishermen, students, and NGOs from 35 countries came to Corpus Christi, Texas to share their work and exchange information on the management of marine resources.

Topics of interest to TBF included fisheries governance and recreational fisheries in the Caribbean which involved interesting research on artisanal fishing as well as the management of fish aggregations devices (FADs), issues which are of growing importance internationally. With marine protected areas (MPAs) threatening to lock out anglers from fishing grounds in places like Australia and most recently Bermuda, new research on MPAs was another important topic for TBF. Exciting research was also presented on dolphinfish (mahi-mahi), yellowfin tuna, and flyingfish, all of which are important prey for billfish.

TBF also participated in the conference by presenting some of its own research. Science and Policy Associate, Michael Kelly and TBF intern, Kristina Trotta both presented their findings from projects which focus on the Caribbean. Trotta presented results from research that compliments previous work conducted by TBF in the northern Caribbean for the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism. Similar methods used for prior research conducted in Puerto Rico and USVI were utilized by TBF to gauge the level of sportfishing in Colombia as well as the motivating factors and potential economic growth of sportfishing in the country. As part of a Caribbean wide campaign, ongoing research being conducted by TBF in the Caribbean was also presented by Michael Kelly. This work focuses on working with stakeholders and officials in the Caribbean to assess the existing levels of sportfishing in the region, the capacity to expand sportfishing and highlight the potential for Caribbean nations to capture the many benefits of sportfishing. The intent of this research is to help influence policies in the Caribbean toward conserving gamefish and promote sportfishing in the region. Ideally, this work will show that that sportfishing offers a much more sustainable means of benefitting from marine resources instead of practices such as longlining or selling fishing rights to foreign nations.

Keep an eye out for more on TBF’s work in the Caribbean and the results of the research in Colombia in TBF’s ‘News’ section or contact one of the TBF staff members for more information. Learn more about TBF’s work in our Research section.

The post 66th Annual Gulf & Caribbean Fisheries Institute appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

In October, the students in South Broward High School’s Marine Policy class participated in their annual mock debates about billfish policy as they worked together to create a management plan for billfish in the United States. Groups of students represented different stakeholders in the fishery such as recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, environmental groups, scientists, and government officials as they debated on how to implement increased conservation measures for billfish. TBF’s Andrew Cox attended the final day of debates where the students finalized their positions and came to a conclusion for a new management plan. Students were given insight and feedback on their proposed management plan and how many of the items suggested were things that TBF is currently working on such as increased gear restricted areas and catch caps on billfish. TBF is looking forward to next year’s billfish debate!

The post TBF Talks Billfish Advocacy in Classroom appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Russell Nelson, The Billfish Foundation’s Chief Scientist and a former leader of the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission, has passed away. His unexpected death is a loss to those who knew him and to the fisheries he helped over a long career. When it came to ensuring healthy fish populations, Russell Nelson was the perfect combination of scientist and reason.

As executive director of the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission (FMC), which later became part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nelson helped develop regulations that brought redfish,  snook and other species back from the brink of extinction in Florida waters. Russell also protected sea turtles by getting Florida to require turtle excluder devices on shrimp boats.

Appointed by the governor, the MFC’s commissioners were citizens that sometimes had little knowledge or understanding of saltwater issues, but Russell always there to gently guide them to do the right thing for Florida’s marine resources. He not only knew the science that would help a species, he also knew human nature and how that had to be figured into the management equation.

“Russ was an enormous asset to the Marine Fisheries Commission and was a phenomenal contributor to the safety and conservation of many fisheries in the United States,” said R.Z. Safley, a former Florida legislator and one-time member (1986-1988) of the Marine Fisheries Commission. “He was a good scientist and a hard-nosed advocate for (marine conservation). He was important to the science of fishery management for decades.”

“He was well-educated; he was one of those guys, like Einstein, who had pathways through the brain the rest of us didn’t have,” said Roy Williams, former assistant executive director of the Marine Fisheries. “He was a good scientist but he also had pretty good political insight. Most of the issues we dealt with were tough, because you had to say ‘No,’ to somebody. Russ was good because he could balance the science and the politics.”

After leaving the FWC in 2000, he founded Nelson Resources Consulting, an Oakland Park-based international fisheries consulting group that specializes in conservation science and advocacy for recreational fishing interests.

With The Billfish Foundation, Russell was instrumental in several of TBF’s socio-economic studies in the Los Cabos region of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama as well as being a loud voice for recreational fishing during international negotiations. His insight into dynamics of fisheries and the socio-economic benefits generated from sport fishing played pivotal roles in assisting many governments make decisions to further benefit sport fishing and tourism opportunities.

“All I can say is that Russell, in addition to being a brilliant scientist and analyst, had the most subtle sense of humor of anyone I’ve ever known,” said Joan Vernon, of Key Biscayne, who conducts the Presidential Challenge and worked with Nelson on billfish conservation issues in countries visited by the tournament series. “He had the ability to put complicated issues into perspective and reach sound conclusions that benefited not only the fish, but the economic issues involved as well. His outlook on life was an inspiration for all that knew him. It is hard to imagine life without Russell.”

“He was super,” said Capt. Bouncer Smith, of Miami Beach, who took Mr. Nelson and friends of his from Sweden daytime swordfishing two weeks ago. “He had semi-retired, bought a motorhome and went all over the Eastern United States trout fishing and visiting people.”

Russell received his doctorate from North Carolina State University, then worked as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service before working for the Marine Fisheries Commission. Highly respected, Nelson also served for 14 years as a member of both the U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils and also served on the U.S. delegation to the International Committee for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

Nelson is survived by TBF President Ellen Peel, two adult daughters, Rebecca and Kate, his mother and several siblings. A celebration of Nelson’s life will be held Sunday October 13, 2013, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) headquarters in Dania. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Billfish Foundation by clicking here.

The post TBF Mourns the Loss of TBF Chief Scientist, Russell Nelson appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Look for TBF at the 54th edition of The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) running from Thursday, October 31st – Monday November, 4th. FLIBS promoters forecast this year’s event to be one of the best ever, with new attractions including Seafair, which features upscale food, drinks and shopping, and the Sailfish Pavilion located at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center. Be sure and visit The Billfish Foundation’s display at the Bahia Mar location near the front of the entrance tent.

Steve Goione, TBF’s 2013 artist will be a guest at our booth on the first two days of the boat show. Steve celebrated his home state of North Carolina and its iconic boat-builders when he created “A Rigger Full” for the TBF 2013 Print of the Year. The centerpiece of the print features a sleek sportfishing boat aptly name Release Me, with masts loaded with TBF tag flags. Two beautiful blue marlin complete this beautiful work of art. Steve will be at the TBF display on Thursday and Friday, illustrating an original pen and ink remarque on the print during show hours to increase its value and exclusivity even more! Those who join or renew their TBF membership at the boat show will be entered into a drawing for this one of a kind work of art!

TBF will also be debuting some brand new apparel from our conservation partner, Pelagic. You will definitely want to check out this great looking gear either for yourself, or be ahead of the game and start your holiday shopping for your favorite anglers!

The post Come See What’s New At TBF During The Fort Lauderdale Boat Show! appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

With billfishing at its peak in many destinations worldwide, TBF and TrollPro.com would love to see your amazing fishing videos. Similar to our monthly photo contest, we will reward you with prizes for sending in the best short videos to us!

All you need to do it submit your video to us via email, mail, or share your file via dropbox.com or Google Drive and be sure to “like” our TBF facebook page as well as TrollPro’s Facebook page. Once we contact and confirm the details of the video provider, we will post the top choices on our TBF facebook site. The winning video will be posted on our social media outlets and we’ll mail out your prize! We might even use your videos in future events!

RULES:

FORMAT: Videos should be 10 minutes or less in duration. Do not send us YouTube or vimeo links that are not your own! Send your files by email, or sharing them via dropbox.com or google drive  to [email protected] or just send us a flash drive to our office – ATTN: Video Contest!

1. Your submission e-mail should contain contact information, credits, a short description of location, species, highlights and if a TrollPro Video Housing was used.

2. Videos should be no shorter than 10 seconds and no longer than 5 minutes of footage. Edited footage is fine as well.

3. Videos must not contain any inappropriate material and should be in good taste, suitable for all audiences.

4. The videos can be of billfish in the water and/or underwater, jumping shots, on the teaser, in the dredge teaser or free swimming and must be submitted by the 1st of the month. The contest will begin October 1st, 2013 and you have until October 15th to submit your video. The top videos will be voted on and the winner will be announced in our monthly e-newsletter.

5. Since TrollPro is a proud co-sponsor of this contest, any winning video that is captured in whole or part with a TrollPro Underwater Marine Video Housing, TrollPro DredgePro, or TrollPro Down Rigger Series housing and displays proof will receive an additional bonus from TrollPro!

6. Prizes will only be mailed to addresses in the United States.

Eligible Video Formats

PLEASE NOTE: Any video of a fish that has been removed from the water will be disqualified. Not only is this harmful for the fish, but it is also illegal in the Atlantic and its surrounding waters according to Atlantic Federal Regulation 50 CFR 635.21.

**By submitting videos to The Billfish Foundation and TrollPro you have given us the right to use your VIDEO in any of our digital (Facebook, twitter, etc.) or traditional (brochures, publications, promotional materials etc.) media outlets.

The post Introducing the TBF/TrollPro Monthly Video Contest! appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Encountering a blue marlin is quite a feat in itself, but seeing one this small is extremely rare. Richard Brackett from Charleston, South Carolina contacted us about catching a small billfish. He sent us the picture above and after looking at it, it was confirmed that he caught a baby blue marlin!

Many thought the picture he submitted shows a sailfish due to the “sailfish-like” dorsal fin but blue marlin also have a “sail” early in life. Eventually it recedes and their bill grows out. Sailfish can be easily distinguished due to their dorsal AND bill. Luckily, anglers have also encountered “baby” sailfish in the Gulf of Mexico and sent pictures in for confirmation. For clarification on what is a blue marlin and what is a sailfish, please refer to the pictures and illustrations in the gallery.

By Richard Brackett

My boss, Joey Cagle and I decided to run out to swordfish for a couple hours (off of Charleston, SC), so we left about noon and trolled from 200’ straight out to the deep just to see what we came across on the way. We had a pretty good day and ended going 1-2 pm sails and had a couple other bites. Once the sun started to set we set up for a drift. After an hour or so, I saw what we thought to be a juvenile sailfish in the transom lights. Being such a last minute trip, I forgot the dip net so I had to resort to option two. I filled the bucket with water, opened the transom door and scooped him up with my hands and set him in the bucket. I have to say even at this small size they are crazy aggressive. I got him in my hands in the bucket to snap a quick picture so we could release it as quickly as possible.

Great story and thank you for sharing it guys. This could possibly be one of the easiest blue marlin releases ever! This is the smallest blue marlin we have heard of recently but other “baby” blue marlin were spotted from South Carolina down to South Florida.  It is amazing to think that these little guys can get to be over 1500+lbs when fully grown!  If you encounter any of these guys please let us know and email us!

The post “Baby” Blue Marlin Story appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently released the Final Rule for Swordfish Management (Amendment 8) and a Draft Rule for Bluefin Tuna Management (Amendment 7). Both have particularly important information for anglers and the recreational fishing community.

The final rule for Amendment 8 for swordfish management  is intended to more fully utilize the domestic swordfish allocation. Beginning in 2014, a new General Commercial Permit for Swordfish will be available that authorizes the use of hand gear, excluding buoys, to harvest swordfish and legally sell to authorized swordfish dealers.  The rule also allows charter/head boats to fish under the same restrictions as the general commercial permit.

Regional retention limits were established for the three separate areas with a special Swordfish Management Area created for the South Florida region, the Northwest Atlantic (including the Gulf of Mexico), and the U.S. Caribbean.  Vessels in the Northwest Atlantic, excluding the Florida Swordfish Management Area will have an initial retention limit of three (3) swordfish per trip. The Caribbean will have an initial retention limit of two (2) swordfish, and the Swordfish Management Area will have an initial retention limit of zero (0).

An important note is that interested vessels would need to meet commercial vessel requirements and would forfeit their HMS Angling Category permits, making it illegal to target billfish outside of HMS registered tournaments.

The Draft Proposed Rule for Bluefin Tuna (Amendment 7) has several alternatives which include quota reallocation among categories and potential seasonal longline closures in the Gulf of Mexico. Of particular interest to The Billfish Foundation is NMFS is also considering opening the DeSoto Canyons and the Florida East Coast (FEC) longline closures to a limited number of longline vessels. Originally closed due to high interactions with juvenile swordfish and billfish, opening these areas to longlines could have a detrimental impact on the sportfishing industry.

NMFS is also considering TBF’s recommendation to allow the Gulf of Mexico a sub-quota of the total bluefin tuna Trophy Angling  for incidental catches. In recent years, landing an incidentally caught bluefin has not been possible because the fishery was closed in April and before the height of fishing season in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed rule would separate the 4.2 mt of Trophy bluefin (greater than 73″) equally among the three regions – North, South, and The Gulf of Mexico. In recent years, the Southern Trophy bluefin tuna quota has been filled early in the year with subsequent closures of the fishery in April the previous two years.

To stay up to date on both of these important HMS Amendments, visit TBF’s Advocacy Center.

The post NMFS Releases Updates for Bluefin Tuna and Swordfish Management appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

For college students, the first week of school is always one that is full of anxiety of new classes and coming to the conclusion that your summer is officially over. However, the University of Alabama makes sure to welcome students with one epic concert. The Greekfest committee and Costa Sunglasses host the annual Costa Greekfest. This was the fifth consecutive year that they hosted this event, this time on August 23rd, and even the one-hour weather delay could not keep over 12,000 students from turning out. This annual concert brings Alabama students together to “party for a purpose” and it did not disappoint those lucky enough to get tickets.

The proceeds of the event went to non-profit organizations that make a difference for local Alabamians. The beneficiaries were the University of Alabama Greek Relief Fund and The Billfish Foundation (TBF). The University of Alabama Greek Relief Fund, an organization that provides relief across Tuscaloosa and TBF’s steadfast commitment to the Gulf communities and businesses in the region made it a simple choice. TBF has been working with the Alabama sportfishing community for many years and continues to fight for the conservation of billfish and educate the public about the importance of sportfishing to local communities.

Jay Johnson of Costa’s movie series GeoFish was the master of ceremonies and Costa made sure they gave the concertgoers a full slate of great and diverse group musical acts. The concert’s headliner was Hip-Hop star, Wiz Khalifa, who followed, Dispatch, a Progressive-Rock jam band and local Tuscaloosa band, Mother Funk. Costa held another memorable concert in Tuscaloosa that students will not soon forget. Many of the students received great items from Costa like t-shirts, stickers, and cups. Students even won a pair of Costa sunglasses throughout the night, and two students came on stage to compete for a Yeti cooler and sunglasses via fighting chairs. Not a bad night, even if it was back at school.

TBF would like to thank Costa and the Greekfest committee for selecting The Billfish Foundation as a beneficiary of the event. We would also like to thank the University of Alabama and all the event volunteers for a great event and great time on campus. TBF looks forward to the next participating in the next Costa Sunglasses and University of Alabama event. For more information about the Costa Sunglasses please visit www.costadelmar.com.

The post Costa Greekfest 2013 appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

On August 28, TBF attended the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Composed of Governors from each of the five Gulf States and representatives from six federal agencies, the council voted unanimously to approve the initial plan outlining the recovery efforts for the Gulf region following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The preliminary ideas discussed at the meeting and voted upon are outlined in the Draft Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy that can be found by clicking here. Within the document are the Council’s plans for restoration efforts to create projects that will restore and revitalize the Gulf Coast ecosystem and economy. Setting the framework for how funds in the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Trust Fund will be utilized for restoration projects as they become available, the Council has laid the necessary foundation to make lasting impacts in the Gulf of Mexico.

TBF understands the important role recreational fishing plays in the communities and economies throughout the Gulf of Mexico and will continue to work with organizations and scientists in the region as the recovery effort moves forward.

The post Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Meets in New Orleans appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud to announce that Costa Sunglasses is TBF’s newest Tag and Release Program partners. They join King Sailfish Mounts, Pelagic Gear, and Bisbee’s Black and Blue as sponsors of TBF’s cornerstone conservation program. Established in 1990, The Billfish Foundation’s Tag and Release Program is the largest private billfish tagging database in the world, and is the cornerstone of TBF’s conservation and advocacy efforts.

With more than 200,000 tag and release reports, TBF receives over 15,000 tag and release records annually from across the globe, which provides vital information for billfish conservation. Tag data is studied to further understand billfish species growth rates, migratory patterns, habitat utilization, and post-release survival rates.

The tag and release data also provides valuable information for stock assessments that are instrumental in a time when industrial longlines represent the largest source of marlin mortality. This data provides the groundwork for conservation minded policy, scientific advancement and gives insight into the demographics and socio-economic benefits generated from billfishing.

Costa’s support of TBF’s tag and release program allows the advocacy organization to continue its tagging education and outreach efforts within the angling community.

“Costa has been a longstanding partner of The Billfish Foundation,” said Al Perkinson, vice president of marketing for Costa Sunglasses. “Support of tag and release programs, like TBF’s and others, allows for more fish species data collection, so we make more informed decisions in regards to sustainable sportfishing practices and policy.”

TBF is looking forward to having Costa Sunglasses on board and excited for the future with all these great companies coming on board to support TBF’s Tag and Release Program! To learn more about TBF’s Tag and Release program or to become a sponsor, please contact us at 954-938-01050 or email.

The post Welcome Costa Sunglasses as a Tag & Release Program Sponsor! appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

On July 25-28th, TBF’s Peter Chaibongsai took part in the Japan Game Fish Association’s (JGFA) Japan International Billfish Tournament (JIBT) off of Shimoda, Japan. Located several hundred miles south from Tokyo, Shimoda, Japan is known for the US Navy opening up trade between nations in the mid-19th century. The JIBT, in its 35th year, pits the best Japanese billfish anglers against one another in a friendly tournament – with the only thing on the line is pride and bragging rights on who is the top billfish boat . While the JGFA holds billfish tournaments on almost every weekend in the summer, the JIBT is the largest attended. This year over 100 boats and 600 participants took part in the tournament which has a minimal entry fee of about $1000 dollars.

During the tournament, Chaibongsai was welcomed by the JGFA and met with their directors and executive officers. The purpose of TBF’s visit was to reestablish communication between the groups, especially since the group has continued to be a staunch supporter of TBF’s Tag and Release Program.  Recently, a Japanese angler and/or captain has won a Tag & Release award from TBF in three of the past five years.

Some JGFA members have continued to use TBF tags since the early 1990’s, which is quite a feat. Moreover, in JGFA’s fishing museum, where they proudly display Japanese billfish records, they also prominently show and discuss the importance of TBF’s tagging program in billfish conservation. With this in mind, TBF has recently seen a number of their tagged fish showing up in a number of places like off of Taiwan and the South China Sea.  The parties also discussed other ways to continue to reestablish regular communication (outside of the Tag and Release program) and following the meeting everyone came out excited for the future.

The tournament was lively every morning with a shotgun start and with everyone coming back to the dock by early evening and be recognized for what they caught, tagged and released. The format of the tournament is to tag any billfish under 100kg or about 220 lbs. Over 40 billfish, including blue, black and striped marlin, were tagged and released safely over the 3 days of fishing. On the first day of the tournament TBF presented the first 10 boats that tagged and released a billfish a TBF tag flag, magazine and sticker as a small gesture of thanks. During the awards ceremony TBF was recognized and Chaibongsai spoke to the participants and presented the JIBT’s Top Tag & Release boat to Team Bonita.

TBF would like to thank the members of JGFA for the invitation to attend the JIBT, to Mr. Higashi for his assistance, and Team Forward for their hospitality. TBF is anxious to work with JGFA and to come back to Japan and build upon the discussions during our time there.

The post TBF Goes to Japan! appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The first annual Sailfish Brewing Company’s Tag & Release Amber Festival was held on July 20th at Sailfish Brewery in Fort Pierce, Florida to bring awareness and generate funds for The Billfish Foundation (TBF). This event was the brewery’s way to help support TBF and to introduce themselves a TBF conservation partner for 2013 and beyond.

As part of their commitment to honor the TBF mission, the owners of Sailfish Brewing Company named one of its most popular offerings Tag & Release Amber.  Sailfish Brewery donated a $1 for every Tag & Release beer sold during the festival to help support TBF’s tagging program. During the event, a silent auction of items was also held to raise more funds for TBF and TBF had discounted memberships for those who joined that evening.  Following the event, proceeds from Tag & Release Amber (as well as their seasonal White Marlin Wheat) will benefit TBF as well.

“We are thrilled to have Sailfish Brewing Company as a sponsor and welcome their enthusiasm to help The Billfish Foundation not just with this event, but by naming one of their bestselling beers after our tagging program,” said Peter Chaibongsai from TBF. Along with this event, we will also be offering TBF memberships and TBF literature throughout the year at the Sailfish Brewpub so local area residents and visitors can easily participate and learn more about our organization.”

Nick Bischoff and Dave BuShea, cofounders of Sailfish Brewing, are both avid sports fishermen who wanted to share their love of the sport and the importance of conservation with others. “From our inception we wanted to give Florida beer drinkers a craft beer that speaks to our unique tastes, hot weather and love of the sea while committing to protect the water that surrounds us,” said Bischoff.  “We created the Tag and Release Amber – an American pale, crystal, with a healthy dose of rye malts brew — specifically to focus on the importance of this TBF initiative,” he said.

Over $1000 dollars were collected from the auction, beer sales, and memberships from the event and TBF would like to thank Sailfish Brewery for hosting this unique and fun benefit event. We are excited to have them onboard as a sponsor and look forward to seeing this relationship blossom in the Florida fishing community. We cannot wait to see and taste more local libations from them! For more information about Sailfish Brewery, Inc. and the Tag & Release Festival go to their website or their Facebook page.

The post Sailfish Brewing Company’s Tag & Release Amber Festival appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

On July 3,The Billfish Foundation submitted their official comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as part of the scoping process for the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012. Signed into law on October 5, 2012, NMFS is seeking public comment on the potential scope of any future regulations to implement the BCA.

Two exemptions placed in the legislation would allow Pacific billfish caught by domestic vessels and landed Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas to be excluded from the general prohibition within the legislation. The legislation also allows foreign vessels to land billfish in Pacific Insular Areas for exports outside of the United States.The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is currently accepting comments on the scope of the exemptions in the Billfish Conservation Act and the possible regulations, if any, that can be used to restrict the trade or sale of billfish landed by U.S. boats in Hawaii.

The Billfish Foundation’s Official Comments for the ANPR for the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012:

TBF’s comments can also be read by Clicking Here

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On June 26, 2013 the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) revised their policy for evaluating proposals to convert obsolete, offshore oil and gas production platforms into artificial reefs rather than require companies to remove them in accordance with the ‘Idle Iron’ requirements. These federal regulations require offshore oil and gas operators to seal wells that are no longer producing and remove any associated infrastructure associated with the production platform…removing fish habitats for many of the Gulf of Mexico’s most sought after game fish.

BSEE’ s new policy will allow companies to avoid the removal process by making their rig part of the ‘Rigs to Reef’ program to enhance a state’s artificial reef program . Once all hazardous materials have been removed from the platform and depending upon the location and the bottom characteristics, the rigs can either be reefed in place or towed to a designated reefing area.

The new policy also supports and encourages the use of obsolete oil and gas structures as artificial reefs and provides greater opportunities for reefing by reducing the five-mile buffer zone between reefing areas to two miles. The policy also provides for extensions to regulatory decommissioning deadlines for companies actively pursuing a “Rigs to Reefs” proposal.

Oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico provide productive fishing grounds for recreational fishermen and popular dive sites for divers. Removing them as a result of the ‘Idle Iron’ regulations not only has detrimental impacts on fish habitat, but reduces the potential fishing locations in the Gulf of Mexico.  The revised policy surrounding the ‘Rigs to Reef’ program will truly benefit both the recreational fishing and diving industries in the Gulf of Mexico.

To read BSEE’s new ‘Rigs to Reef’ Policy, Click Here

The post New Federal Policy Will Enhance Gulf of Mexico’s Rigs To Reef Program appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A report released today by The Billfish Foundation (TBF) reveals that sportfishing has been a major factor in attracting tourists to Panama providing a valuable fishing-based economic lift to the country. In 2011 (most recent data), 86,250 visitors fished in Panama. Those anglers and the rest of their travel companions spent $97 million on charter boats, fuel, food, lodging, and other related expenses. The number of anglers visiting Panama has doubled from 2001 to 2011 and the surge could only be the beginning, provided that fishing remains great and consumers are made aware of it. For every U.S. angler that has visited the country, eight more are interested in Panama as a fishing destination. If each interested angler was enticed into visiting, it could translate into an additional $776 million for the Panamanian economy. The study, entitled “Sportfishing in Panama: A Natural Economic Gold Mine,” was conducted by Southwick Associates with critical on-the-ground support from Vista Group-Panama, OCEARCH, and TBF Scientist Dr. Russell Nelson, and was funded by Panamanian government agency SENACYT.

Sportfishing in Panama: A Natural Economic Gold Mine:

Sportfishing tourism annually provides Panama with:

•    $97 million new dollars via spending by visiting anglers.
•    $170.4 million in total retail and business-to-business sales within Panama.
•    9,503 Panamanian jobs.
•    an increase in Gross Domestic Product of US $48.4 million.

“This boom in tourism in Panama is really no surprise. Panama’s wonderful climate, natural beauty, and amazing beaches alone are major attractions, but one in four tourists that fished visited Panama JUST to fish,” said Ellen Peel, the President of TBF. “It is paramount, though, that governmental agencies continue to focus on implementing responsible management and conservation measures for marine fisheries and continue to restrain foreign purse seine and local longline vessels for the benefit of billfish and all species. If managed correctly, Panama’s sportfishing sector will become an even bigger cash-cow for Panama’s tourism economy.“

The survey asked U.S. anglers why they choose to fish in some countries but not others. Beyond the excellent fishing, Panama scored high among surveyed anglers regarding the reasonable cost of travel, safety, and availability of quality charter boats. In fact, 87 percent of the anglers surveyed were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their trips. This bodes extremely well for Panama tourism because 68.5 percent of people choose a vacation destination based on friends or family recommendations. Because people leaving Panama have such a high rate of satisfaction, word-of-mouth between friends and family will drive even more people to the country.

“For every 10 sportfishing visitors to Panama, another Panamanian job is supported,” Peel said.  “But to continue to add to these jobs, Panama needs to maintain top notch fishing, which requires an abundance of fish in the water that comes from good management and strong, well-enforced fisheries regulations. Anglers reported they favor fishing destinations that tightly and effectively control commercial and recreational harvests. Panama needs to communicate that they are on board with these tourism-driving factors.”

Ms. Peel went on to add, “This study emphasizes that, if Panama wants to grow sportfishing tourism, improvements to Panama’s infrastructure and services must be made based on fishery science and strong economic and conservation policies. By looking at the experience in other countries, poorly planned and managed fisheries will lead to less employment, not more.”

To view and download the Summary Report seen above, Click Here

To read the full Technical Report, Click Here

The post TBF Releases Study ‘Sportfishing in Panama: A Natural Economic Gold Mine’ appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

This month, Australia is on the brink of establishing the world’s largest network of marine reserves that will cover close to 900,000 square miles including vast zones that would restrict anglers from iconic fishing grounds in the Coral Sea. The science and regulatory processes used to design these reserves remains a very contentious issue and the debate still continues at the federal level. Approval of the reserves’ management plans by both the Lower (Representatives) and Upper (Senate) Houses of Parliament marks the final step before the reserves can be implemented.

Resistance in Australian Parliament has been led by the Opposition who on June 3 filed a motion to disallow the management plans, arguing that the lack of public consultation with key stakeholders and that inadequate impact assessments were both rushed and insufficient to make a decision on such an important issue. In addition, the Opposition’s fisheries spokesman, Tasmanian Senator Richard Colbeck, stated that the creation and management of Australia’s marine reserves are lacking a sound scientific basis and that foreign NGOs have misled the public. “We want marine protected areas that are sensible, that don’t involve locking up huge swathes of the ocean, like the whole Coral Sea, just because the Pew Foundation thinks it’s a good idea and have run a campaign to Tony Burke,” he said.

In a split decision to approve the management plans just one day before the June 4^th deadline, the final outcome came down to the vote of independents who voted in favor of marine reserves. Fortunately, there is still a chance that the Upper House will not approve the management plans by the June 25^th deadline. Other actions are being taken including the introduction of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Making Marine Parks Accountable) Bill 2012 which would mandate that rigorous independent reviews of the science and regulatory practices are conducted. Currently in front of Parliament awaiting a vote, this bill could effectively disallow the proposed marine reserves and require that the design for these reserves starts anew- this time requiring much more thorough scientific justification.

The events that have unfolded this past week in Australia have further demonstrated how important, yet polarizing the management of marine resources can be. TBF agrees with many others that in Australia, which has demonstrated the ability to successfully and sustainably manage its marine resources, restricting access to important users such as anglers is not warranted and could cause detrimental impacts on the benefits generated from sportfishing. Restrictive marine zones do not protect against the more pressing threats like pollution or coral bleaching, but will displace many businesses with losses that some estimate could total in the billions of dollars. Already, many charter boats in Queensland are experiencing a decrease in business and one independent report predicts that as much as half of the Cairns charter boat fleet will be lost as a result of the marine closures. Australia is not only setting a bad precedent for the management of marine resources all over the world , but is also showing a general lack of transparency when making decisions that impact individuals, businesses, and the economy as a whole. If the management plans for the marine reserves are passed by Parliament, implementation will not take place until July of 2014 with the exception of the South-West Commonwealth Marine Reserve which will be implemented as soon as July of this year.

The post The Future of Australia’s Marine Reserves appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Do you have any amazing billfishing pictures? We’d love to see them AND reward you with some free stuff ! The Billfish Foundation and HookBuzz.com are proud to announce a monthly photo contest where the winner will be eventually decided by the YOU! Each month, one winner will be voted on and then after 12 months of winners are announced, a grand prize winner will win a bag full of gear!  Not too shabby for just sending in a picture.

All you need to do it submit your picture to us via email and be sure to “like” our facebook page as well as HookBuzz.com’s page. Once we contact and confirm the details of the photographer, we will post the top choices to be voted on by the public on on our facebook site.  The winning photo will be posted on our social media outlets and we’ll mail out your stuff! We might even use your photo in a future publication!

RULES: 

The photos can be of billfish in the water or jumping shots, and must be submitted by the 15th of the month. The top choices will be voted on by the public and the winner will be announced the 1st of every month. The contest will begin June 1, 2013 and you have until June 15th to submit your picture. The top pictures will be voted on the from June 21-26th and the winner announced following the votes being tallied. The next picture submission date will be July 15th.

PLEASE NOTE: Any photo of a fish that has been removed from the water will be disqualified. Not only is this harmful for the fish, but it is also illegal in the Atlantic and its surrounding waters according to Atlantic Federal Regulation 50 CFR 635.21.

**By submitting photos to The Billfish Foundation you have given us the right to use your photo in any of our digital (Facebook, twitter, etc.) or traditional (brochures, publications, etc.) media outlets.  

The post Introducing TBF/HookBuzz Monthly Photocontest appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Going out fishing is great, but did you ever wonder how science is involved with sportfishing? The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) current educational program with LMR tackle, based out of Fort Lauderdale,  actually allows young people to understand the “Science Behind Sportfishing,” while also participating in it.  With assistance from the Fish Florida Grant, young people are discovering how school subjects like science and math are applied in the creation of some of the most popular fishing products. It also allows the kids to see that the recreational fishing community is not only limited to people fishing on the water but also see those businesses who are dependent on a healthy fishery and healthy recreational community like LMR Tackle.

Over the past month, TBF brought two groups of students from South Broward High School to LMR tackle to learn and discover how many companies are involved in recreational fishing.  Capt. Tony DiGiulian and LMR Tackle owner, Andy Novak, gave a the kids a tour of the tackle shop and a huge list of vendors who sell their products at LMR. TBF’s Peter Chaibongsai and Parker Crawford talked about the “Science behind Sportfishing” by illustrating how much science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are involved in the production of some of items in the store like a rod.

Following the tour and the discussion, and to drive home the concept of STEM, the students began to build their very own rod. For two days, starting at 9am, the kids build their own light tackle rod with help from the LMR staff until the afternoon.  We know we had a couple of the kids already “hooked” when they came to class on the second day from fishing and talked about what type of fish they would catch on their own personal rod they built. We can’t wait to see and hear what they actually catch on their rods in the upcoming weeks. We’ll be sure to post those pictures and stories when we get them.

Seeing a young person’s face when they catch a fish is fantastic, but when that young person can build their own rod and then use it later to catch their very own first…that is priceless. Thanks to the assistance of LMR tackle and Fish Florida Grant, TBF will be holding more of these programs during the summer and hope to get more kids out fishing…

To learn more about TBF’s education programs, please contact us.

The post Students learn about the “other side” of sportfishing appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

A recent decision to prohibit the commercial harvest of marlin in New Zealand waters represents another victory for billfish conservation. Last year a reevaluation of the management of billfish and tuna species in New Zealand was undertaken with the possibility of introducing marlin (blue, black and striped marlin) into the quota management system. This would mean that an estimated 25 metric tons of marlin caught commercially could be potentially harvested and sold commercially each year. Fortunately, the Minister of Primary Industries, recognizing the importance of billfish to New Zealand’s sportfishing industry has decided to not include marlin into the quota management system and maintain their status as recreational only species.

New Zealand is recognized the world over as a premier location for billfish and especially striped marlin. In fact, 20 of 22 line class records currently held for striped marlin have been caught in New Zealand waters including a 494 pound all tackle world records. Several of some the top billfishing captains in the world also come New Zealand including TBF award winners Marty Bates, John Gregory and Graeme “Bonze” Fleet.  Sportfishing in New Zealand has grown to support more than 100 charter businesses and generates an estimated NZ$90 million annually. Anglers in New Zealand also do their part to help conserve billfish through tagging programs, practicing catch and release, and even go beyond government regulations by self-imposing size limits for billfish.

The greatest threat to striped marlin stocks in the western Pacific are the estimated 1,305 distant water longline vessels predominately from Japan, Taiwan and Korea which target albacore tuna.  Assessments have indicated declining numbers for striped marlin and that stocks are in the brink of overfishing.  Since record seasons in the early 90’s New Zealand fishing clubs have seen decreasing catch trends and some charter businesses predict they will no longer be able to operate if catch rates worsen. Fortunately, New Zealand has made a responsible decision by prohibiting the commercial harvest of marlin.

Since 1987 there has been a ban on the commercial harvest of marlin in New Zealand and TBF is glad to see that this will continue. New Zealand’s decision to prohibit the commercial catch of marlin also represents the growing trend of nations recognizing the socioeconomic importance of sportfishing and ensuring that billfish species are conserved for anglers to enjoy. Sportfishing organizations in New Zealand are also taking additional actions to protect billfish and working to establish a ban on the estimated 4.5-5 metric tons of billfish imported into the country annually. An economic assessment of the striped marlin fishery in nearby New South Wales, Australia, has shown that the recreational and charter sectors generates an estimated AUD$112 million annually compared to a mere AUD$5 million for the commercial sector. A prohibition on all billfish imports would follow after the precedent set by the by Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) that was recently established in US. Like the BCA in the states, prohibiting billfish imports in New Zealand faces the challenges of existing trade agreements, monitoring and tracing the origin of imports. For more information on New Zealand’s billfish management and the BCA please contact TBF or see our advocacy page.

The post Victory for Marlin in New Zealand appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Not many people want to go back to school, one time through is enough for many, but that is exactly what The Billfish Foundation’s Peter Chaibongsai did last week at the La Jolla Country Day school in La Jolla, California. TBF was invited by Mr. Christopher Uyeda, a science teacher, to present to several classes on the importance of the conservation of recreational fish stocks and why programs like TBF’s Tag & Release program are essential for billfish conservation.

Chaibongsai spoke about TBF and our mission to conserve billfish populations worldwide as well as those communities dependent on healthy billfish (and their associated species) fish stocks. While many have never heard of billfish initially, they all could make the connection when Chaibongsai explained that it was the same type of fish from Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” The students were enamored to find out that these fish begin their lives as tiny plankton and can grow to over 2000 lbs.

TBF’s Tag & Release program was then discussed and how the public can assist scientists and policy makers to the conservation of these important fish. Chaibongsai showed them why they tag fish, how it is done, and why they do it. Students were surprised to hear that how many stakeholders could be involved in recreational fishing, the money invested in the sport, that over 170,000 tags have been deployed on billfish and how far they can travel. By the end of the presentation, the students understood that the learning more about billfish (through tagging, releasing, and reporting) and their conservation were important to the economy, since many livelihoods are dependent on them.

Not a bad afternoon back at school. TBF would like to thank Mr. Uyeda and La Jolla Country Day for the invitation to come to the school and hope to see some of these students out on the water soon!

The post TBF back in the classroom appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

On May 2, 2013 The Billfish Foundation submitted their official comments for Draft Amendment 8 for swordfish management in the United States as part of the Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries Management Plan. Draft Amendment 8 proposes the establishment of a new Open-Access Commercial Handgear Permit for Swordfish as a means to increase access to fishery and decrease the amount of unharvested quota.

Even though the North Atlantic swordfish stocks are fully recovered, which represents a success story for international fisheries management, the U.S. has failed to catch its allocated quota in recent years. From 2007 to 2011, a persistent underharvest of quota at roughly 70% of the baseline has put the U.S. in jeopardy of losing unharvested quota. A number of factors have contributed to this issue including failure by many recreational anglers to report swordfish landings as well as the lack availability of commercial permits.

The authorization of new gear types into the commercial swordfish fishery, as proposed in Draft Amendment 8, may increase landings and the likelihood of the U.S. retaining its quota. The National Marine Fisheries Service believes that there will be a large shift from the recreational sector to the commercial sector since it would provide a legal way to sell swordfish to licensed dealers. It is believed that a large number of recreationally caught swordfish enter the market illegally, something that poses problems for not only fisheries management, but also health concerns. NMFS believes that more than 4,000 vessels will obtain this permit, more than 1,2000 of those coming from the ‘Florida Swordfish Management Area’. The Billfish Foundation believes that these numbers are over-inflated and have caused significant opposition by some commercial fishermen because of their inaccuracies.

NMFS is also proposing retention limits that would reduce the incentive for fishermen to obtain these permits. Additionally, these retention limits are less than what is  currently allowed for a recreational vessel. The Billfish Foundation believes that in order for this permit to be effective, a retention limit must be equal to that of the recreational catch limit (1 per person, up to 4 per vessel) for the Florida Swordfish Management area and six swordfish for the other areas. This will provide the economic incentive for individuals to obtain this permit and provide a legal avenue to sell swordfish, hopefully reducing the amount of illegal sales and transfers from recreational vessels. To read The Billfish Foundaiton’s full comments, please read below.

 The Billfish Foundation’s Official Comments for Draft Amendment 8:

TBF’s comments can can also be read by clicking here.

The Billfish Foundation has particular interest in the swordfish fishery and the development of Amendment 8 because of the importance of the fishery to both the recreational and commercial fishing industries.

To read more about this topic please check out the following stories:

• Overview of Amendment 8 for swordfish

The post TBF Submits Official Comments for Draft Swordfish Amendment appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

Australia’s proposed network of marine reserves is threatening to close off close to a million square kilometers to anglers, but fortunately, several scientists and organizations have been working to try and stop this from happening. A recent publication by Professor Robert Kearney in the Open Journal of Marine Science has echoed many of the points made by TBF and that the closures of vast marine zones are not logical or necessary for Australia to protect its marine resources. By some estimates, implementing these reserves will mean economic losses totaling in the billions, yet they will do little to protect from the true threats to Australia’s marine habitats. Not only is it not sound management but it is unfair to anglers and all Australians.

Australia’s fisheries management has consistently ranked among the best in the world by several independent reviews and has a history of effectively and sustainably managing its resources. In 2004, stock assessments indicated that overfishing was occurring in close to 40% of Australia’s managed fisheries. Just two years later in 2006, the percentage of overfished stocks was slashed to just 11%. Accomplished through traditional management practices of regulating catches and controlling fishing effort, the recovery of these stocks demonstrates the effectiveness of Australia’s fishery management as well as the resilience of marine species to recover from an unhealthy state. At both the national and state level, fisheries management in Australia focuses on conservation as well as promoting the sustainable use of marine resources.  So why then is Australia shutting out important user groups like anglers and forfeiting socioeconomic opportunities when they do not pose a threat to the conservation of marine resources?

Many argue that the push for marine reserves is largely due to the influence of environmental NGOs and the failure of the country to inform the public on the true nature of the issues at hand. Many NGOs do not care to take the time to inform the public that almost all fishing practices (especially sportfishing) in Australia are sustainable and well managed. Instead, environmental NGOs with imposing media campaigns have misconstrued the facts and portray a “doom and gloom” message that all forms of fishing are a threat to the marine environment. Unfortunately, environmental NGOs have led many to believe that the smallest amount of overfishing is the equivalent of an environmental catastrophe and extreme measures like marine reserves are necessary to ensure their conservation. This is all despite the fact that Australia already effectively manages its resources and that marine reserves do not address the real threats to Australia’s marine environment such as pollution or coastal development. Even recreational anglers have been negatively portrayed despite the fact that anglers are conservation oriented and are a tremendous advocate for conservation efforts. In fact, Australian anglers annually generate close to $20 million AUD through the sale of licenses that helps fund habitat restorations, stock enhancements, and enforcement. Additionally, anglers are  significant drivers of local economies through both direct spending and tourism generated from sportfishing. In New South Wales alone, recreational fishing for striped marlin is estimated to have an annual economic impact of $112 million compared to less than $5 million for that of commercial catches of striped marlin.

Currently, Australia imports 70% of its seafood, a figure that is expected to rise given the restrictions placed on fishing by the proposed marine reserves. Importing seafood means exporting the responsibility of sustainable fishing practices to other countries, which for Australia are predominately Asian countries that rank as some of the worst managed fisheries in the world. A dependence on seafood imports also draws into question issues of food security, especially for a country like Australia that is situated near many developing nations with growing demands for protein to sustain their expanding populations. In the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve, an area of over half a million square kilometers is posed to shut all forms of fishing and create an annual loss of over 600 metric tons of tuna and swordfish that are harvested each year from this area. The displacement of these catches and highly migratory nature of these fish may mean that these fish will be harvested by nearby countries. Unlike Australia, other countries in the south Pacific do not responsibly manage their fisheries and use unsustainable practices such as those associated with high bycatch of important sportfish like billfish.

There are always two sides to every story and there is an important lesson to be learned from what is going on in Australia: stakeholders such as anglers need to take the time to educate themselves about the issues and work together to ensure that the real issues are addressed. Anglers and other important stakeholders do not have the resources or powerful social media tools of some international NGOs. They do however make efforts to conserve marine resources and make significant contributions to local economies. Unlike commercial longliners, anglers have almost no bycatch, tag and release virtually all billfish. It is unfair for NGOs to negatively portray anglers and to lock out anglers when they do not pose a threat to conserving biodiversity. Australia has demonstrated that it is capable of managing its marine resources so why try to fix something that is not broken.

The link to read Professor Kearney’s article can be found by clicking here

Full citation of article: Kearney, Robert. 2013. Australia’s Out-Dated Concern over Fishing Threatens Wise Marine Conservation and Ecologically Sustainable Seafood Supply. Open Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 3 No. 2, 2013, pp. 55-61. doi: 10.4236/ojms.2013.32006)

The post Support Building in Australia by Respected Scientists appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The Billfish Foundation would like to welcome Pelagic Gear as a new Tag & Release Sponsor! We are excited to have them on board to support and promote TBF’s Tag & Release Program. Pelagic joins Bisbee’s Black and Blue, Costa Sunglasses, and King Sailfish Mounts as Tag & Release Sponsors for 2013.

Pelagic Gear has been a sponsor of TBF’s website section “In the Spread” for several years, but reaffirmed and increased their support of TBF’s main conservation program.

This partnership works perfectly with Pelagic’s own Ocean Conservancy Project line. This project raises funds for organizations that are on the forefront of scientific research, conservation, and recreational fisheries management. Pelagic Gear will now be on the forefront of billfish conservation!

TBF is looking forward to having Pelagic on board and excited for the future with all these great companies coming on board to support TBF’s Tag and Release Program! To learn more about becoming a sponsor of TBF, please contact us via email or by phone (954) 938 0150.

The post Welcome Pelagic Gear as a New Tag & Release Sponsor! appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The winner of TBF’s first Sid Johnson Memorial Conservation Trophy was won by team Vesper from Trinidad for releasing the most billfish during the 2012 Southern Caribbean Billfish Circuit.  The Vesper team includes boat owner Jerome Mcquilkin, Captain Gerard “Frothy” de Silva; mate Nigel Garcia, three anglers Derick Tardeau, Ayoub Kabli and James Layton.  TBF president Ellen Peel presented the trophy to Captain Frothy at the Marlin Madness tournament for the rest of the team was competing in the Bonnier World Championship in Costa Rica.

The late Sid Johnson from Trinidad was an early advocate for catch and release of billfish and fought hard to try to get Trinidad to stop allowing the distant-water-fishing nation of Taiwan from using the nation’s port as a major transshipment location.  Johnson was recognized with a Special Achievement Award by TBF in 1998 for his push for conservation, responsible fishing and fighting overfishing from distant-water-nations that overfish billfish, which they kill as bycatch. Johnson later served on TBF’s board of director and was very helpful in keeping TBF informed on issues in the southern Caribbean.

The post Sid Johnson Memorial Conservation Trophy Presented in Tobago appeared first on The Billfish Foundation.

The Billfish Foundation would like to welcome Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund as a new Grand Slam Sponsor! We are excited to have them on board and working with them to lead TBF’s Tag & Release Program into the future.

Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund (BFWCF) has partnered with The Billfish Foundation, top software developers, database experts, and environmental engineers to evaluate and redesign The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release program, software, and systems so that it may efficiently and effectively report a wide range of data to scientists around the world.  With your help we will learn how to better protect our waters highly migratory species.

TBF and its partners are looking at technological advances in tag designs offer scientists new information that help us understand the feeding, spawning, and migration patterns of billfish. In order to organize and utilize this new data, TBF’s Tag  & Release program needs a redesign and to be more engaging for the public so they can report and share their data. With a new and efficient program, TBF will continue help protect our oceans highly migratory species.

BFWCF does not only limit itself to billfish and the ocean, they also have a African Rhino Project. This project is an aggressive campaign to protect and prevent the poaching of the endangered African rhino. Training field rangers with state of the art technology to venture into the bush on anti-poaching patrols on private game reserves (where most of the rhinos live) is the crux of the project.

Click here to learn more about the Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund.

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