Picking up billfish for a pic

[Big Jay]

This is a very interesting topic, and everyone will have their own ideas on removing fish from the water. Perhaps the best way of looking at it is that at least the people talking about it are putting the bloody fish back in again - every fish will benefit 100% from that instead of leaching their life away on a teak deck !

Personally, I've always tried to persuade people to leave their billfish in the water - I'm talking about the smaller billfish I've managed to snag in my career, of course (no one's going to try and bring a 200kg plus Madeiran sized fish in the boat - unless their name is Bill Hall, **cough**). For me personally, the major bone of contention with lifting fish out of the water is the stress issue, not the slime. I do not imagine that billfish were ever designed to be both lifted and then dragged by their bills, nor have their stomach and its innards draped across a gunnel or a series of knees. Actually being out of the water long enough for a photo is also not a big issue (a wash-down may be needed for longer poses), but I'm not really happy with the thought of "things" being pressed in to their stomachs, or the body and backbone being artificially "stretched" by the actions of well-meaning anglers and crew.

But hey, what you do with your fish is your decision and if they ultimately go back in again alive then congratulations are due anyway. If you do this you're already caring more for your fish, your industry and your resource than a great many others, and if you're doing it as a professional, I think your over-riding message of concern and conservation for your victims under the gaze of your charter is probably worth more than the several dozen dead fish you could hang in a week.

Maybe there could be some mileage here in designing a tool like a sling that could be used in conjunction with a snooter to enable every party to be satisfied with the end result ? Slings aren't a new idea, but using them for small billfish might solve every argument out there. Less danger to crew, less stress and damage to the fish, no use of the bill, full body support, and if you put handles on the right places no risk of damage to discs if several people can lift the fish in ?

Roddy we had this exact discussion before in regards to Great Whites. I hate to call you out on this but that tagging effort in the Pacific where they put the fish on the deck...those sat tags moved. They moved for quite some time too. Those fish without a doubt lived and swam around for a while.

Now sharks are way more rugged than bills but i suspect that billfish aren't exactly fairy fish.

Either way: Be smart. Get the fish out carefully, take the pic, and put it back in and revive.

[Russell A. Jost]

I am as guilty as anyone on this topic. For the Highly Migratory Species regulation see 50 CFR Part 635.21 Para 2 states...."If a billfish is caught by a hook and not retained, the fish must be released by cutting the line near the hook or by using a dehooking device, in either case without removing the fish from the water." This reg is also referenced in the 2012 HMS Recreational Compliance Guide.
So the reg has already been in place for number of years. We as anglers are the best stewarts of our recreatioal fishing and should lead by our example.
You can check out current regs by going to https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/otherlinks.asp and follow the links to the 2012 compliance guide.

[bigfish4me]

I have never fished for bill fish.....aside from swords and any legal one of those gets the pointy end of the stick If i were to catch a billfish......lets say a whitey or a sail.....dam right I want to drag its azz into the boat for that photo op.....but it should be up to us to make that decision......Having to fish a certain type of tackle is just another step twards the pussification of everything these days.