Great billfish biologist is mourned

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and billfish lost a champion early this morning (4/7/25) last night (4/6/25) with the death of Dr. Eric Prince. Prince was the billfish scientist to whom Win Rockefeller and Tim Choate turned to answer their questions about the status of Atlantic billfish stocks in 1985. The two experienced anglers recognized despite their fishing experience and quality equipment, they were catching fewer and fewer billfish. It was Prince who explained billfish were not priority species with the federal government because they were not targeted by commercial fisheries for the US food market. Not being priority species with the federal government meant little to no research money was ever available for stock assessments to estimate the species abundance in the water. TBF was created in 1986 with its first financial commitment to providing funds for international billfish stock assessments through a research program chaired by Prince.

Prince served almost four decades as a billfish biologist at the NMFS Southeast Lab
in Miami, and is credited with much of what we know about those oceanic wanderers.

********************************

Though a gale warning is up in NJ/NY Bight. northwest winds should calm the seas

by tomorrow when they drop to 15-20 knots with gusts to 25. As a result, the Big Mohawk will be sailing from Belmar at 6:30 for blackfish.