I'm a member of The Billfish Foundation, but I don't tag billfish. I do release all billfish I catch. Not because I think there's anything wrong with tagging; more to do with circumstance.
Most often when I'm trolling for marlin, it's just the wife and I on board. She runs the boat after we hook-up; I handle the billfish. Took a few times (and she was ready to divorce me) to teach her what to do. The first time was nothing but tears and cries of "I'll NEVER go fishing with you again!" because, yes, the adrenaline flows and I was barking orders like the sailor that I am. Amazingly enough, we managed to catch and release that fish - 300+ blue marlin.
Today, she and I are a finely-tuned team on the water. No yelling, no screaming, we've got it down to a science and we work together. Put the boat in neutral, clear the other trolling lines, I fight the fish, and she backs down or circles as needed. I leader the fish, get it by the bill, pull the hook, then she motors forward as I revive the fish and she takes a few pictures before I release it. So, the only problem is - there's kind of a lack of hands for tagging!
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