5.2 Fishing Areas 



5.21 General geographic distribution 

 See 2 and 5.22. 



5.22 Geographic ranges 



White marlin fisheries range from the coastal 

 waters out to mid-ocean areas. The longline fishery, 

 however, is the only one operating much beyond the 

 continental shelves. Most of the sport fishermen and 

 the smaller commercial boats fish from 1 km off the 

 coast to the edge of the continental shelf. 



In the area from Cape Hatteras, N.C., to Cape Cod, 

 Mass., white marlin are sought by sport fishermen 

 traveling as far as 130 km offshore to the canyons 

 along the edge of the continental shelf. Fish have been 

 captured as far north as Nova Scotia but these are 

 probably strays that wandered further to the north 

 than usual in especially warm summers (Morrow, 

 1965). The major center of abundance in this region 

 seems to be from off Cape Hatteras to off Atlantic 

 City (Mather et al., 1972). The Jack Spot, a shoal 36 

 km southeast by south of Ocean City has become in- 

 ternationally known (Farrington, 1937; Migdalski, 

 1958). 



Havana, Cuba, and the northwestern Bahamas are 

 other areas of intense fishing. The Cuban commercial 

 fishermen travel only from 1 to 6 km offshore before 

 setting their lines in the Straits of Florida 

 (Farrington, 1971) and sport fishermen at Walkers 

 Cay, Cat Cay, and Bimini in the Bahamas, and at 

 Miami can be putting out lines within minutes of 

 leaving the dock. 



The sport and small-boat commercial fisheries off 

 Venezuela are centered about 24 km offshore. 

 Farrington (1949a) noted the abundance of white 

 marlin off Caracas but realized the need for improved 

 equipment and crews with greater maturity and ex- 

 perience before it would be utilized . By 1958, 

 Migdalski predicted that the area north of Venezuela 

 would be another Ocean City and Jaen (1964) calls it 

 the paradise for white marlin anglers. 



A newly developing area of interest which shows a 

 promise of abundance is in the northern Gulf of Mex- 

 ico (Mather et al., 1972). White marlin also occur 

 along the eastern coast of South America as far south 

 as Rio de Janeiro, off the Azores, Madeira, Portugal, 

 southern Spain, and South Africa. 



5.23 Depth ranges 



Parin (1968) reports that during feeding excursions 

 marlin may pass even into the upper levels of the 

 main thermocline 200-250 m in depth. Their usual 

 range, however, varies between the surface and 20-30 

 m. Studies of the results of the Japanese longline 

 fishery also indicate that almost all billfish catches 



are made while the line is moving near the surface 

 (Watanabe, 1961). 



5.24 Conditions of the grounds 



De Sylva and Davis (1963) give the most detailed 

 description of conditions on white marlin grounds. 

 See 2 and 4.6. 



5.3 Fishing Seasons 



5.31 General pattern of seasons 



See 2 and 3.5. 



The white marlin ranges farther into the temperate 

 zones during the warm seasons and congregates 

 seasonally in certain coastal areas. Along the eastern 

 United States, white marlin are abundant during the 

 warm season from Cape Hatteras north to Cape Cod 

 as well as in the Gulf of Mexico. During the colder 

 seasons the marlin congregate in the more southern 

 waters of the Bahamas — peak in spring — and 

 Venezuela — peak August-October — where they can 

 be found at all seasons of the year (Mather et al., 

 1972). 



The offshore fishery reflects the same general 

 pattern with longline catches being greater in north 

 and south temperate waters during their respective 

 warm seasons and higher in tropical areas in the cold 

 ones (Ueyanagi et al., 1970; Wise and Davis, 1973). 

 The middle of fall marks the beginning of the major 

 southward movement from North Atlantic fisheries 

 after the marlin have moved offshore from the coast 

 (Mather et al., 1972). 



5.32 Dates of beginning peak and end of 

 season 



See 2 and 3.5. 



In the middle Atlantic coast sport fishery, white 

 marlin arrive at Cape Hatteras in June and move 

 north all the way to Cape Cod with fishing lasting un- 

 til October in some areas. The peak usually progresses 

 northward starting off Oregon Inlet, N.C., in July and 

 moving up to Ocean City in late July and early August 

 and on up to Montauk, Long Island, in late August 

 before the fish move offshore in September (Mather et 

 al., 1972). 



Although some white marlin are available to sport 

 fishermen off the Bahamas throughout the year, they 

 appear off the northwestern Bahamas, northern 

 Cuba, and southeastern Florida in greater numbers in 

 January and stay until June, with the best fishing 

 from mid-April to mid-June (Migdalski, 1958). 



The sport fishing season for white marlin in the 

 northern Gulf of Mexico extends from early June into 

 October with peaks off the Mississippi Delta in July 

 and in the northeastern Gulf in August (Nakamura 

 and Rivas, 1972). 



The Venezuelan sport fishery also produces some 



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