(1971) examined 77 sailfish caught on longlines off 

 East Africa and found that the majority were be- 

 tween 160 and 185 cm body length (center of orbit 

 to tip of shortest caudal ray), which is consistent 

 with the modes found for sailfish off Africa (Figure 



2). 



It seems possible, then, that when oceanograph- 

 ic conditions are favorable, sailfish move from the 

 western Indian Ocean to the eastern Atlantic 

 around the tip of South Africa. Based on the size 

 samples available from the longline fishery in 

 other areas of the Atlantic and size frequencies of 

 sailfish caught in the sport fishery in the western 

 Atlantic (de Sylva 1957; Jolley 1977), these fish 

 apparently remain in a fairly restricted area off 

 the coast of West Africa. 



Acknow ledgmcnts 



I thank John Jolley, C. Richard Robins, Donald 

 P de Sylva, and Francis Williams for reviewing 

 the manuscript. 



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GRANT L. BEARDSLEY 



Southeast Fisheries Center Miami Laboratory 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA 



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