Tournament has been as high as 200 in 1964 and 1965, 

 but has declined to 120 to 130 in recent years (Atlantic 

 City Public Relations, pers. commun.). 



5.42 Selectivity 



There appears to be little difference between the 

 various hook and line gears as to the sizes of white 

 marlin taken (see 4.13). Full selectivity in regard to 

 the species of fish taken by the various gears is also 

 difficult. With deep fishing methods (longline and 

 handlines), selection may be attempted by the areas, 

 seasons, depths, and environmental conditions in 

 which fishing is carried out. In surface fishing, the 

 areas, seasons, and environmental conditions are also 

 instrumental in determining the species caught. This 

 may also be influenced, however, by fishing tactics, 

 such as type and size of bait or line and hook, position 

 of bait or lure relative to boat, and trolling speed. 



5.43 Catches 



The total annual yield of white marlin as recorded 

 by the FAO Yearbook of Fisheries Statistics (FAO, 

 1971) declined from about 5,000 tons in 1965 to about 

 1,000 tons in 1967-70. These totals, however, include 

 figures for Japan and China (Taiwan) only (Table 8); 

 the total catches must actually be considerably 

 greater. 



The Japanese white marlin catch attained highs of 

 163,415 fish and 4,600 tons in 1965, and has varied 

 between about 27,000 and about 43,000 fish weighing 

 from 700 to 1,000 tons in the years 1967-70 (Table 8; J. 

 P. Wise, pers. commun.). The Taiwanese fishery took 

 from 100 to 500 tons of white marlin annually in 1966- 

 70 (Table 8). No data are available for white marlin 

 catches of Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil, but 

 figures for the yearly catches of "others" (fishes other 

 than albacore, yellowfin, bigeye, and bluefin tunas) 



by Korea, and of "billfishes" (marlins, sailfish, and 

 spearfishes) by Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil are 

 provided by Miyake and Tibbo (1972). These authors' 

 data indicate that white marlin comprised an average 

 of 1.9% (by weight) of the total Japanese longline 

 catches in 1967-71. Assuming that the tonnage of 

 white marlin formed a similar percentage of the 

 Korean catches, the estimated yearly totals increased 

 from about 210 tons in 1967 to 705 tons in 1971. The 

 Cuban catches of "billfishes" in 1961-71 ranged from 

 300 to 1,700 tons; those of Venezuela in 1968-71, from 

 300 to 500 tons; and those of Brazil in 1962-71, from 

 100 to 200 tons. In the Japanese Atlantic longline 

 fishery, 1964-70, catches of white marlin constituted 

 from 29 to 36%, by weight, of the total catches of 

 marlins and sailfish, with an average of 33% (FAO, 

 1971). Catches of the Canadian and United States 

 fisheries are not known, since the white marlin caught 

 were discarded as no market exists in those nations. 

 The considerable effort expanded by these fisheries in 

 waters frequented by white marlin, however, must 

 have resulted in numerous captures. The same is true 

 of the Scandinavian longline fisheries which operated 

 in the western North Atlantic in the early 1960's. The 

 white marlin catches of Moroccan, Spanish, and Por- 

 tuguese fishermen are likewide unknown. The total 

 yearly commercial catches of white marlin in the 

 years 1962-70 probably ranged between 2,000 and 

 6,000 tons (see 4.22). 



Total catches for the numerous sport fisheries could 

 only be estimated, but certain results from some of 

 these areas are available to give indications. The 

 Atlantic City Marlin Tournament catches have rang- 

 ed from 7 fish in the first 3-day tournament in 1955 to 

 223 in 1963. Table 9 shows the catches, number of 

 days fished, and number of boats fishing (Atlantic 

 City Public Relations, pers. commun.). The numbers 

 of white marlin caught in the Gulf of Mexico by the 



Table 8.— Nominal catches of white marlin by fishing areas and by countries, as reported to the FAO (FAO, 1971). 



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