Author: BD STAFF

Yamaha Motor Corporation recently sold Century Boats and the majority of the assets related to the Century brand to Florida-based Allcraft Marine. The new owners plan to resume production of Century boats at their Dade City, Florida facility. “We are very pleased that the Century brand will live on,” said Dean Burnett, Vice President of Yamaha Marine Group. “Century has a long and rich history in the marine industry, and we believe that Allcraft Marine will be a great steward of the Century tradition. The brand’s new owners clearly have a passion for producing high-quality products.” Century was known for…

Costa’s three new sunglass styles — Caye, Las Olas and Peninsula — showcase three destinctively new shapes for the venerable company. The ladies will definitely be taking notice of these new glasses. Caye, pronounced “key,” is the Spanish word for any small, sandy island formed on a reef. It’s also the natural habitat of these versatile full-frame wayfarers. Flexible yet sturdy stainless steel hinges and no-slip Hydrolite nose pads provide all-day forget-they’re-on comfort, while looking good. And like all Costa glasses the Caye will help you see more fish on the water. Caye is available in tortoise, black and white…

At the recent Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, California, many booths had banners on display showing their support for www.savecafishing.org, a website developed to raise money to protect angler’s rights. Vendors were also sticking postcards in shopping bags explaining the need for California anglers to support this cause that is battling against the Marine Life Protection Act. BD Outdoors, which helped develop the www.savecafishing.org website and has played an instrumental role in getting more companies involved, took things a step farther. BD’s very own Barrett Howarth (Captain CABO on the forums) literally donated his head to the cause. Okay,…

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in coordination with the Louisiana Crab Task Force and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board (LSPMB), has announced the Louisiana blue crab fishery has been recognized with the seal of sustainability by a third-party organization, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This designation by MSC is the first of its kind for any blue crab fishery in the world. The Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) assessed the Louisiana blue crab fishery against the MSC standard in a rigorous, open and transparent process that was scientifically peer reviewed and involved site visits to the…

Sea turtles have been on earth 110 million years and their continued survival depends on a ritual that begins every spring, as females climb out of the ocean to lay their eggs. Florida’s sea turtle nesting season started this month and continues through October. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is asking beachgoers to be careful and watch out for sea turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. Leatherback turtle nests already have been documented this year on beaches in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. “Please respect Florida’s sea turtles by leaving them alone and staying…

NMMA Responds to Massachusetts Study Rewarding Anglers for Surrendering Right to Fish WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 15, 2012 – The State of Massachusetts in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) recently initiated a study in which 700 saltwater anglers were offered cash in exchange for giving up the right to fish. Licensed anglers who accept the offer will receive up to $500 after giving up their fishing license and all rights to fish in state coastal waters in 2012. While NMMA commends NOAA Fisheries for collecting important data on the perceived value of recreational fishing, NMMA cannot support…

Thanks to overwhelming response from anglers and hunters, the California state legislature backed off the resolution to remove Dan Richards from the California Fish and Game Commission. Richards had been unfairly attacked for taking part in a legal hunt and was being pushed to resign his post as president of the commission. Anlgers reacted and began a petition to save Richards, who has been a voice or reason throughout the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative, and a friend to fishermen. The public’s voice was heard and the state legislature is no longer considering a resolution to remove Richards from…

Upwards of 25,000 visitors will be on hand for San Diego Sportfishing’s 33rd annual free Day at the Docks, set for April 15, the unofficial beginning of the 2012 season. Day at the Docks attracts a huge cross-section of guests, from tots who’ve never touched a fishing rod to old salts who have been at it for decades. The centerpiece of the event is the world’s largest state-of-the-art sportfishing fleet that calls America’s Cup Harbor on San Diego Bay its home port. These boats offer first-class accommodations while traveling to some of the world’s best fishing spots that literally teeming…

Louisiana Tuna Fishermen In December 2011 the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission took measures to establish a free permit for recreational anglers who fish for highly migratory species and to establish reporting requirements for yellowfin tuna. The information gathered through reporting and from this permit will provide essential data about who fishes off Louisiana’s coast and how much yellowfin tuna is harvested each year. As Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) officials design the free permit, the need for public input is great, to make it as easy as possible for both recreational anglers and charter fishing boats to…

Music star Kenny Chesney (pictured second from left) and Costa Sunglasses presented a $50,000 check to Pat Murray (left) who is the president of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). The funds were reaised through sales of Kenny Chesney’s limited-edition line of Costa Sunglasses during his 2011 Goin’ Coastal nationwide conert tour. Chseney, a six-time Country Music Award winner, often sings about the fishing and boating lifestyle and has been working with Costa to develop signature sunglasses and raise money for marine conservation. The partnership has helped to raise more than $50,000. For more information on Costa, visit www.costadelmar.com. The CCA…

The 2012 Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, California, kicked off yesterday and the BD Outdoors crew was on hand to talk with forum members, sell some swag, hand out cards for the BD Scavenger Hunt so forum members can win a free t-shirt and support the Save CA Fishing efforts. The biggest hit of the show so far has been the brand-new BD booth, located in the 500 aisle, which features two flat-screen displays, an awesome tiki-hut theme and plenty of room to store all of the bitchin’ new shirt designs that are in stock and on sale for…

On February 17, Nathan Adams hauled in a 335 kg (737-pound) Pacific bluefin tuna on 80-pound tackle. Nathan landed the beast in his home waters off the coast Houhora, New Zealand, on the east coast of the country’s North Island. And here’s the kicker… He landed it from an 18-foot aluminum boat! The International Game Fish Association is considering the 737-pound tuna for a potential world record. “It was pretty cool because when I first started fishing my dream was to catch a bluefin tuna exactly like that,” Adams said to a local newspaper. The 42-year-old angler said the line…

Sailfish teams up and down Florida’s east coast have been craving a good sailfish bite for weeks. For the 72 teams fishing in the 2012 Sailfish Challenge presented by Mercury Marine, that craving was answered. The fleet released 185 sails in the one-day, three-inlet tournament. A total of 37 teams checked out of Government Cut in Miami, 27 teams fished out of Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach and eight teams cleared Lake Worth Inlet in West Palm. The bite leading up to the tournament was very inconsistent, and the best fishing was reported off of Miami as witnessed by the…

Enrique Gomez De Molina, 48, of Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced in federal court to 20 months in prison for illegal trafficking endangered and protected wildlife. De Molina was also sentenced to one year of supervised release to follow his prison term, a $6,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit all of the smuggled wildlife in his possession. According to documents filed with the court, the defendant attempted to import wildlife species including skins of a Java kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris) and a collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), one mounted lesser bird of paradise (Paradisaea minor), the skin of a juvenile hawk-eagle…

The award-winning nature documentary, This is Your Ocean: Sharks, completes its national tour with a series of final showings in Palm Beach, Florida, starting March 21st with a gala evening event at Cobb theatres 16 at Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens. The film’s stars — marine artists and conservationists Dr. Guy Harvey and Wyland along with shark expert and diver Jim Abernathy and Emmy award winning director George C. Schellenger — are scheduled to attend the first showing, which will also feature a live auction of original art. Tickets are $22 and include light hors d’oeuvres and…

Three Stockton, California men face prison and jail terms, heavy fines, a forfeited vehicle and destroyed firearms for conspiring to kill and sell deer for profit. In June 2011, after a three-week investigation, wardens with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) arrested Thongseuth Khounchanh, age 58, Ti Sila, age 51 and Bounleuna Sysenglath, age 59, as they returned from an all-night poaching trip in El Dorado County. El Dorado County Deputy District Attorney Michael Pizzuti prosecuted the case and presented the court with evidence regarding the egregious nature of their poaching crimes, along with the extensive costs associated…

In a groundbreaking move and through a joint effort between The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and the Presidential Challenge Charitable Foundation, commercial longlining will be closed in a 40-mile area during this weekend’s Presidential Challenge of Costa Rica tournament, March 1-4. Herbert Nanne, TBF’s Conservation Director for Central America successfully proposed through the National Sportfishing Commission, where he is a member, an agreement to close the waters off Carrillo, Costa Rica, during the Presidential Challenge tournament to INCOPESCA, the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute whose duties include management of the nation’s fisheries, both commercial and recreational. Nanne said the agreement…

The 2012 Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament is gearing up to celebrate its 30th anniversary of giving and fishing. Set for March 22-24, the event will also help raise money for marine conservation, continuing a long tradition of working with various charities. The event is one of the premiere fishing tournaments in Miami, Florida, held at the beautiful Miami Beach Marina on South Beach in Florida. The 2012 tournament will offer many new and exciting changes. Participants can now choose to fish in either the new two-day event (three days in the past) or the One Day Outboard Only Blast.…

Fishing opportunities look promising for chinook salmon in Washington’s ocean waters and the Columbia River, as well as coho in coastal bays and rivers, according to preseason salmon forecasts. Forecasts for chinook, coho, sockeye and chum salmon mark the starting point for developing 2012 salmon-fishing seasons in Puget Sound, the Columbia River and Washington coastal areas. The forecasts were developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and treaty Indian tribes. Fishery managers have scheduled a series of public meetings over the next few weeks to discuss potential fishing opportunities before finalizing seasons in early-April. A meeting schedule,…

Raymarine recently launched its new e-Series and c-Series line of multifunction displays that are packed with powerful features, including wireless streaming to iPhone and iPads. Expanding on the award its e7 multifunction display, Raymarine’s e-Series and c-Series models provide a wider selection of screen sizes and control options. Both c-Series and e-Series displays offer all-in-one display navigation that includes GPS chartplotting and options for sonar, radar, and thermal night vision. Every c-Series and e-Series display is equipped with a dual core processor, plus a third dedicated graphics processor, so boaters can enjoy rapid zooming, a responsive user interface and better…

AFTCO, the American Fishing Tackle Company, recently announced that it has launched a new website for the AFTCO fishing tackle division, and its first ever e-commerce site for the AFTCO fishing clothing division. The new website provides a wealth of information for consumers. Saltwater anglers can now find answers to questions about AFTCO roller guides, rod parts, gaffs, fishing harnesses and belts, outrigger clips, Unibutts, and all other AFTCO tackle items. Anglers can now make direct purchases from the entire AFTCO fishing clothing line as well, including fishing shorts, fishing shirts, fishing pants, fishing gloves and more. There’s also a…

To commemorate Ronnie Tegland’s estimated 430-pound yellowfin tuna, PENN reels created a custom 70 VS International reel that they will give to the angler at the upcoming Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, California. The reel is engraved with the angler’s name as well as “90/62” which were the dimensions of the massive yellowfin tuna he caught back in late January off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The fish would have easily toppled the existing world record catch for yellowfin tuna, currently 405 pounds, but the crew of the Tenacious had no plans on applying for a record because…

The DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator took home the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Innovation Award for Consumer Electronics at the Miami International Boat Show. The Innovation Awards, organized by NMMA and judged by Boating Writers International (BWI), recognize products that best meet the following criteria — innovative, practicality and cost effectiveness. For areas without cell phone service — roughly 90 percent of the Earth’s surface — consumers can communicate via the inReach, which DeLorme says is the first consumer-affordable satellite communicator to offer two-way SOS and personal text messaging, delivery confirmation, “follow me” remote GPS tracking and worldwide coverage…

A paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences co-authored by several NOAA Fisheries scientists and the Food and Drug Administration, says that the public can be confident about the seafood they eat, solely based on the integrity of the scientific process. In April 2010, nearly two years ago, the United States experienced the largest oil spill in history as a result of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil well. Ultimately 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. As reports of the accident reached shore, a sophisticated federal and state effort…