As a matter of policy, it’s unusual for us to post pictures of dead marlin.  The rare instances when we do, it’s either a grander, a tournament winner, or a world record…which is where we generally don’t favor, but don’t completely object to, taking the fish.

And it’s more the principle than it is a reality of conservation – after all, some 99.8% of all billfish killed in the world are killed by commercial fishermen, most often longliners.  But senselessly taking a fish that typically isn’t great table fare, not to mention the diminishing stock of billfish around the world, reinforces our strong advocacy of tag and release.

Looking for fisheries where tag and release is the norm?  Places like Australia, Guatemala, La Guaira, Bermuda, Pinas Bay, and Madeira are world-renowned fisheries that really kill very few fish.  It’s that type of billfish conservation mindset that we applaud – and the boats we recommend are all devoutly tag and release.

Looking to support the cause?  The Billfish Foundation is the best place to go.  www.billfish.org.

And now we step down from our pulpit…back to the fishing!