This previous summer time, I checked off a significant merchandise on my fishing bucket checklist: catching a white marlin on spinning deal with. I did it aboard the On The Water Skeeter 25-foot Bay Boat – not your typical billfishing vessel. The fish, certainly one of six we noticed that day, had moved far contained in the canyons, the place it was feeding on halfbeaks and flying fish over the inshore waters of Southern New England.
Not a lot is thought about these inshore marlin, aside from they present up in various numbers every summer time from Block Island to Nantucket. Fishermen again within the day known as them “Skillies,” a nickname for white marlin that appears completely localized to Southern New England.
Across the time I used to be celebrating my catch, the oldsters of the Billfish Basis – a nonprofit group that works globally to advance the conservation of billfish via analysis, advocacy and schooling – was ramping up their initiative, “The Skillie Challenge.”
By satellite tv for pc tagging and dealing with native captains, The Skillie Challenge guarantees to show us greater than we’ve ever recognized about our white marlin. The efforts started within the late summer time of 2024, with 5 marlin tagged, and can proceed into 2025. You’ll be able to learn extra about it under:
THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION LAUNCHES LARGEST WHITE MARLIN SATELLITE TAGGING MISSION TO DATE: THE SKILLIE PROJECT
Group-Based mostly Analysis Initiative Goals to Advance Conservation of an Understudied White Marlin Inhabitants off the coast of New England
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 4, 2024) – The Billfish Basis (TBF) pronounces the launch of The Skillie Challenge, a brand new initiative devoted to advancing the conservation of a white marlin inhabitants, discovered off the coast of southeastern New England and domestically known as “Skillies.” Utilizing cutting-edge satellite tv for pc tagging expertise, The Skillie Challenge hopes to achieve a greater understanding of certainly one of Nantucket’s traditionally prized recreation fish and drive sustainable administration practices to guard them.
By a singular collaboration with the native fishing communities of Cape Cod and the Islands, famend captains and fishery pioneers, main billfish scientists, and {industry} sponsors, the community-driven venture marks TBF’s largest white marlin satellite tv for pc tagging mission up to now.
The Nantucket fishery, as soon as famend for its swordfish, started evolving right into a key habitat for white marlin within the Nineteen Eighties. By the late twentieth century, anglers had been experiencing document numbers of those larger-than-average fish. Nonetheless, their annual return has turn out to be much less constant lately, prompting the group to take motion. A cellphone name to TBF within the spring of 2024 led to the creation of The Skillie Challenge, which rapidly gained momentum.
“The Skillie Challenge is a testomony to what might be achieved when passionate people, {industry} leaders, and the larger fishing group come collectively for a typical trigger,” mentioned Peter Chaibongsai with The Billfish Basis. “Drawing inspiration from the mannequin of our profitable Marlin Fly Challenge, the thought of a analysis mission – absolutely devoted to understanding the migratory secrets and techniques of those elusive fish whereas highlighting this historic group – immediately grew to become a actuality.”
In simply 4 months, the venture rapidly gained the backing of passionate stakeholders, the College of Maine’s Pelagic Science Lab, and industry-leading manufacturers (MidAtlantic Event, Viking Yachts, Valhalla Boatworks, Nomadix, Costa Sun shades, and Yeti), ensuing within the donation of 17 satellite tv for pc tags for its inaugural yr.
Captains John Galvin and Rob Goodwin led the trouble, piloting two Viking 72s – El Diablo and Scup Slayer, respectively. Constructing on a long time of historical past with Nantucket’s fisheries, the duo labored with TBF, Captain Martin Scanlan, and the College of Maine to execute the tagging. Regardless of the challenges of an unpredictable fishery and a slender tagging window, The Skillie Challenge efficiently deployed 5 satellite tv for pc tags in 2024.
“Ask anybody that’s ever fished round right here, discovering Skillies within the unpredictable waters of Nantucket Shoals is not any straightforward feat, not to mention catching one. Success requires a fragile steadiness of supreme circumstances, experience, and sheer luck. So to deploy 5 tags in our first season is de facto particular and a big step ahead,” shared Capt. John Galvin of Nantucket. “This venture is a outstanding instance of group collaboration and scientific teamwork, and I’m assured it’s going to result in some unimaginable discoveries.”
Satellite tv for pc tags used for The Skillie Challenge are programmed to stay on the fish for eight or twelve-month durations. The info collected from these tags will present very important insights into the fish’s migratory habits, serving to inform conservation methods for the species’ future.
Trying forward, The Skillie Challenge will proceed in 2025 by deploying further tags and analyzing the primary yr’s information. The analysis gathered will play a key function in shaping sustainable administration practices, making certain that Skillies stay a prized a part of New England’s marine heritage for generations to return.
For extra data on The Skillie Challenge, please go to www.theskillieproject.com.
ABOUT THE BILLFISH FOUNDATION
The Billfish Basis (TBF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group that works globally to advance the conservation of billfish and related extremely migratory species via analysis, advocacy and schooling. Based in 1986 by Winthrop P. Rockefeller, Dr. Eric Prince, and a gaggle of fifty founding members, The Billfish Basis (TBF) fosters robust billfish conservation ethics to teach anglers of all generations and supply a voice for billfish and the worldwide leisure sport fishing {industry}. TBF’s Tag & Launch program, which started in 1990, has grown to be the most important worldwide non-public billfish tagging program with over 280,000 reviews, and serves as a cornerstone of its mission. With a give attention to integrating science and coverage, TBF continues to be a pacesetter in influencing efficient fishery administration options that profit each billfish populations and the angling group. For extra data, go to www.billfishfoundation.org or observe on social media @TheBillfishFoundation.
