Abstract

Long before billfish declines started making headlines, South Carolina billfish anglers began voluntarily releasing their fish. With a release rate of 26.9% in 1987, then Governor Carroll Campbell, feeling more could be done, established the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. The tournament series was designed to increase coastal tourism, promote the state’s billfish tournament enterprise and at the same time encourage the conservation of billfish. Bearing in mind that tournament caught billfish accounted for more than half of the fish killed, many thought the concept would not work. Fortunately, a federal minimum size limit was established the same year that the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series began. Over the last 15 years, the tournament release rate has risen 750%. In addition, the Series stipulated that billfish must be tagged before release to count within the tournament series. In an average year, 95% of fish released off South Carolina bear fish tags. Within the Series, anglers are not limited to the source of their billfish tags. However, since 1974, South Carolina has been providing anglers with free tag kits. Before 1988, only 230 blue marlin, sailfish and white marlin had been tagged by participating anglers. With the institution of the federal size limits on these species and the introduction of the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, anglers began tagging more billfish. Since 1989, 1727 billfish have been tagged in South Carolina’s Marine Game Fish Tagging Program. Over 20 tag recoveries have resulted from fish tagged within this program. Recoveries have occurred as far south as 750 nautical miles east of Brazil, (this was the first documented crossing of the equator by an Atlantic Blue Marlin), and as far north as Vetch’s Canyon, Rhode Island Other long distance recaptures have occurred off Venezuela, Cuba and the Abacos.

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