Billfish News – July 2024: Strong Marlin Season and Long-Term Tag Recaptures

The July 2024 Billfish News highlights an eventful New Zealand billfish season, with strong striped marlin catches extending further south than usual and high tag-and-release participation during the NZSFC Nationals. Several tagged marlin recaptures provided insights into fish movement within New Zealand waters, while long-term recaptures of southern bluefin tuna,…

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Billfish News 2023: Logbook Insights and Marlin Movements

The December 2023 Billfish News provides an update on the New Zealand striped marlin fishery, including insights from the Billfish Logbook Programme and recent tagging research. Data from the 2023 season highlights regional differences in fishing success and contributes to the upcoming Southwest Pacific striped marlin stock assessment. The report…

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Gamefish tagging newsletter 2023

The 2022-23 season saw a repeat of the last two years in the North, with periods of persistent easterlies and warm, wet tropical lows, limiting fishable days. The South Island benefitted from warm water and calm weather, with great summer bluefin tuna fishing and striped marlin as far south as…

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Striped marlin satellite tagging report 2023

Six pop-off satellite tags were deployed by the New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club in February and March 2023. At last, we have detailed tracks from west coast tagged striped marlin, thanks to ongoing support from the IGFA Great Marlin Race programme and the NZMarine Research Foundation.  Four of the…

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ID guide to large tunas of New Zealand

This guide was created to assist recreational fishers and fishing clubs in identifying species of large tuna using external features of freshly caught fish. There is a recreational bag limit of one southern bluefin tuna per person per day and the need for fast identification and live release is increasing. …

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