Billfish and other sportsfish like marlin, sailfish and swordfish do not grow on trees
The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is proud of its signature Tag & Release program now in its 20th year, and has added a new and striking “billfish release” certificate for anglers worldwide wanting to document that special fishing moment.
The certificate highlights the angler’s name, the date and number of billfish species (marlin, sailfish, swordfish) released, the location, captain and boat.
“It’s both an instant conversation and conservation piece,” said TBF President Ellen Peel.” It’s also a way of honoring the anglers, captains and mates, TBF’s volunteer stewards of the seas, for relaying their reports of the specific areas and conditions of the billfish they caught from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and then safely released. Some skippers and anglers are also equipped with our TBF tagging data kits.”
Tico Times Editor Note: In Jan, 2009, the TBF successfully reached a ban on exporting billfish meat in Costa Rica and helped create a sustainable management and agreement plan for billfish and other popular game fish vital to growing sport fishing and tourism in the region the Central American Countries. Costa Rica was also the first country in the World to establish the catch and release fishing program. Tico Times Directory tries to ONLY lists those Costa Rica Fishing Charters who honor catch and release.
The release and or tagged reports are entered into TBF’s new data bank and also for a yearly “competition” of captains, anglers and mates who generate the most annual information.
TBF Science and Policy Specialist Elliott Stark said, “A combined total of nearly 16,000 TBF ‘tagging data reports’ and ‘release notification cards’ were generated last year. Of those 8549 billfish were released without being tagged and another 7180 billfish were tagged and then released. TBF members from more than 70 countries are invited to participate each year.
“When the report card reaches TBF that information is added in our databank. Since TBF houses the largest private database on billfish, managing bodies of domestic and international marine resources like the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) rely on TBF to update their databases increasing their knowledge of the migration behaviors of billfish,” he said.
“In turn,” said Ms. Peel, “captains, mates and anglers of all ages enjoy the release certificates as a lasting way to commemorate the catch, release and conservation of a billfish.
“We decided to give the release certificate a more modern look by adding Carey’s stunning art. He was TBF’s Artist of the Year in 2003 and we’re proud to have his support of TBF’s conservation work. Carey’s gorgeous illustrations are in numerous TBF publications and we auction original paintings of his at our October dinner each year,” she said.
Stark added, “Anglers can receive a certificate as a free premium once they become an active member of TBF ($25 annually) or purchase them for $20 a certificate whether they release or tag a billfish. Anglers must fill out the TBF release card, which gives us a record of their catch. TBF sends non-members a confirmation report about their released billfish, where the angler confirms/edits the data submitted and has the option of purchasing the certificate or becoming a member. As long as the person is an active member of TBF, they can receive an unlimited amount of certificates under their name.”
To join TBF go on-line at their website or email Deborah Cummings Deborah_Cummings (at) billfish.org and/or Ms Peel at Ellen_Peel(at)billfish.org
Post Article submitted by TBF PR counsel Pete Johnson, Johnson Communications, johnsoncom (at) aol dot com.
Yeah. Let’em go so the Chinese punks that own Puntarenas can net them and ship them back to the homeland.