THE AFRICAN BILLFISH FOUNDATION
|
|
|
The African Billfish Foundation (ABF) is a unique charity working along
the East African coast that aims at promoting a smart approach to the
conservation, research and management of the Billfish species and their
environment. The foundation also encourages fishing practices that
support sustainable uses compatible with conservation, whilst still
maintaining economic returns.
Mission:
Promoting
conservation and research for the protection and improvement of
Billfish Species and their Enviroment.
 "The sport fishing industry depends on the survival of billfish, and the survival of billfish rests in the hands of sport anglers." Charlie Harris
The
intensive hands-on Kenya and Tanzania expeditions are designed to be
practical lessons involving a multi-faceted approach to create and
increase awareness regarding the conservation of billfish species
along the Kenyan Coastline. The first phase of the expedition (Kenya
Chapter) will cover the 600 kilometer Kenya Coastline from Kiwayu up
North to Shimoni on border of Kenya and Tanzania. TheTanzania and Zanzibar Chapter
In Pemba,
5 major fish markets and landing sites were
visited and several contact persons set up. We also covered the major
areas in Zanzibar, and gave a talk about the African Billfish Foundation
and its work at the Dar-es-salaam Yatch Fishing Club.
Having
spoken to a lot of the fishermen in Pemba and Zanzibar, we discovered
that many of our tags are being recovered in billfish but are not being
reported to us for the following reasons:
 In an
effort to address the above issues, we will continue to visit and
educate all the parties concerned in order to increase our recovery
rates and strengthening our ties with the contacts we have made. In the
meantime, we are now turning our attention to the Kenya expedition which
we are planning to kick off with in September.
The African Billfish Foundation
was also invited to present
two papers
(listed below)
at the
6th World Recreational Fisheries
Conference that was held in Berlin, Germany in August 2011.
A scientific paper
about the findings and the work that our
fishermen and anglers have been doing over 15 years was also presented
at the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
Working Party on
Billfish in the Seychelles in July 2011. A.B.F. PROGRAMMES
The African Billfish Foundation is primarily concerned with the
running of a tagging programme which targets billfish species. This
is carried out by sport fishing boats, both charter and private
operating throughout the coastal East African region.
To date, the African Billfish Foundation has recovered over 1,500
fish tags. The recovered
tags include the most outstanding ones demonstrating that tagged
billfish migrate to places as far as the West Coast of Austaralia,
Yemen, South Africa, Reunion, Chagos and many more. Cash rewards for
recaptured tags retuned to us with the relevant information are
given to the artisanal fishermen as an added incentive for getting
involved in the conservation ethics.
The foundation campaigns and lobbies for the conservation and
management of billfish species. We
Through our considerable database, the foundation compiles reports
for different topics. These include, billfish migration patterns,
growth rates and breeding stocks among others.
The foundation is geared towards empowering the local communities through education and awareness regarding billfish species, their conservation and management.
Here you will find a break down of the species of
billfish that were caught of Kenya and in which area
they were caught. Seasonal catches by zone back to 2004.
|
 
Membership
Join Now on our PayPal Page!
Free T-shirts for all new
members, news updates on ABF
expeditions, recaptures and
tagging information. Join
the debate at our forum or
Facebook page.
A description of how
one goes about
tagging a fish and
the process that
follows.
Join in the debate on the conservation, tagging and future
development of Indian Ocean billfish population. Have your
say on how we interpret the data.
The ABF has
compiled the entire Kenyan sport fishing catch, see
graphs of billfish migrations dating back
to 1984 and Game fish catches going back to 1992.
Over the time the ABF have been collecting billfish data
a number of events, such as large El Nino's and La Nina's
which
appear to have influenced billfish migration patterns quite
dramatically. Then there is the constant cycle of the moon
and what role it plays.
Company
Number:
4502290 UK Charity Number: 1096850
Thanks to
Rob Hellier, Stewart
Simpson
& Con Jooste for above
pictures.
|
|
info@africanbillfish.org - P.O, Box 342, Watamu, Kenya -
|
