The Island is well into the holiday mood, with the shoppers bustling through town, the lounges and restaurants doing a boom trade and various social engagements going a log way to ensuring that the vast majority of the populace is kept from venturing offshore. Even commercial fishermen seem to have reasons to remain on shore, be it sprucing up the property or taking party in the Yule revelries.The main local marine product that is in demand is the spiny lobster as this is seen as a celebratory food and, for many, it serves to be the highpoint of a holiday feast in the sure and certain knowledge that there will be lashings of ham, turkey and cassava pie over the next week or ten days.Given the less than inviting nature of the weather over the last week or so, most of the commercial fleet has confined their efforts to their lobster traps and, by all accounts, there is a good supply of the coveted crustaceans; certainly enough for those who seem to want them.There are a few stories of some wahoo being caught but not enough to inspire anyone to drop everything and to head offshore. The yellowfin tuna action paints pretty much the same picture, so the thought of a trip out to the Banks is not really all that attractive.If the urge for fresh fish is as great as the monotony of holiday fare might suggest, an option might be to try your luck out on the Southwest Edge. The “hind grounds” or protected areas are open to fishing at this time of the year and, without a doubt, that is an incredibly productive piece of bottom.Now is a great time of year for amberjack and bonita, both of which tend to be numerous even over the deeper reef areas (16-22 fathoms). There should also be enough coneys and barbers to make up a bag or two of fillets and although the term “hind ground” is a bit of a misnomer, the chances of snagging a couple of these small but prized members of the grouper clan off the bottom are pretty good.Not too far from shore; and that’s good from both a fuel consumption and a safety point of view. It is a good bit of fishing ground with virtually all the local species present in good numbers. A bit of chum, some bottom-bouncing and a little work should see enough in the cooler to justify a brief excursion to the south west. Plus the added satisfaction of legally being able to fish somewhere that is usually off-limits. There is a certain perverse pleasure in that, so go off and enjoy it while you can!Elsewhere on the world fishing scene, the US government continues to advance the cause of the billfish, this time taking the form of a bill called the Billfish Conservation Act of 2011. Whether or not it will become law in 2011 is a doubt but, if it receives the rest of the support that it requires, it might become law during the next 12 months. One thing that is for sure is that it is picking up additional support from lawmakers as both angling lobbies and conservation groups call congressmen and mount campaigns to elicit sufficient support to ensure the eventual passage of the law.People forget just how long it takes to enact a law, even when there is no serious opposition to the proposal. The process in most jurisdictions, as mandated by a constitution or other instrument, usually provides some system of checks and balances and, as a result, there are various stages that have to be gone through until such time as a bill becomes law.Not surprisingly, in this particular case, there are a number of groups that are not in favour of the idea. These range from actual fishing interests to seafood importers and even down to certain restaurants that do a healthy trade in billfish dishes.In this case, the proposed legislation would ban the sale of billfish in the United States and this, it is believed, would significantly reduce the commercial pressure on the species covered by the legislation. These are the marlins, spearfishes and sailfishes. The legislation excludes swordfish which are seen as an important food fish, a vital aspect of the American commercial fishery and a reasonably well managed fish stock.Part of the reason for including all the other billfish species is that this proposed law is aimed at closing a loophole in the existing legislation that already prohibits the sale of billfish caught in the Atlantic.The problem stems from the inability of most people, Customs officers included, to separate the species, especially when the fish is presented as loins or fillets.Because of this, there has been considerable illegal trafficking in Atlantic billfish which were presented as having origins in the Pacific.The smart part of the proposal is to eliminate the market for billfish and that is probably the most efficient means of reducing the impact of the fishery for these species. The USA is a huge and very lucrative market but if the product can’t be sold there, then there isn’t much point in pursuing it. The key point here is that the fact that it is the sales end of things that will be the target of the law means that the law will not only affect American fishing vessels but pretty much the commercial fishing world by removing a large portion of the world market for billfish.The support for this action comes not only from US-based bodies like the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation but it has also met with the approval of organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUC). Basically, the feeling is that by making it less profitable for fishing fleets to fish for billfish, then the total effort will be reduced and, eventually, the fish stocks will recover. From a rather selfish point of view, this suits the sports fishing fleets and other anglers who have billfish species on their agenda. More marlin or sailfish makes for better angling even if the price of such is at a cost to others who are involved in fishing for a living. To prevent criticism, the proposed law in the U.S. has provisions for native and traditional fisheries such as those found in some of the U.S. islands with aboriginal populations.Happily, for us, even if this does become a law, it will have little effect on Bermuda or its billfish. While we do kill a few billfish a year, they are virtually all blue marlin, some of which come up dead after becoming tail-wrapped or meeting some other form of demise. If any of this is sold it is sold as bait and most boats that do keep a marlin have enough bait needs of their own to want to keep it all for themselves. Our blossoming billfish sport fishery is primarily concerned with catch and release activities which are carried out both by local and visiting American boats. Again, the sale of billfish flesh is not an issue. So why is there any local interest in this process?Quite simply, in the long run, successful regulatory legislation in the United States may make for healthier marlin populations and that can only benefit us and improve our already better than most chances of enjoying some spectacularly Tight lines!!!