Page 49 - 52nd Annual White Marlin Open

Red List Workshop to integrate previous assessments of the threat status to
61 species of tunas and billfishes.

IGFA Billfish Research and Conservation Endowment (BRCE) (2023-Pres-
ent) - The IGFA Billfish Research and Conservation Endowment is dedicated
to funding initiatives that directly or indirectly benefit billfish stocks by en -
hancing our knowledge on their biology and ecology, obtaining management
measures that improve their abundance on national, regional and international
levels, and improving recreational fisheries for these species. It is anchored
byanestimatedplanned gift of approximately $1,300,000 and a generous
matching gift challenge of $1 million. In January of 2025, the IGFA met the
goal of raising the $1million match and is still actively fundraising for the
endowment. The endowment has an initial $3.3 million target, which will be
added to over time, whose disbursements will be used exclusively to conserve
billfish in perpetuity.

Engagement in the National and International Fisheries Bodies - Several
IGFA sta serve on the NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Advisory
Council and Advisory Committee for the International Committee for the Con-
servation of Atlantic Tunas. They also submit annual position statements to
the worlds four major International Fisheries Bodies that govern the regulation
of highly migratory species such as tunas and billfish.

e h T dn a t s e g r a L s ’ d l r o W h s i f l l i B t s e h c i R a n r uo T m t n e | 49