350 Cutlass Fish, Blue Marlin 



Size: Reported to reach 5 feet in length and 100 pounds 



in weight. 



General Information: This species was formerly common 



north of the Carolinas but is now only occasionally seen 



in the Middle Atlantic region. 



Economic Importance: A good food and game fish. 



Cutlass Fish 

 Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus 



Color: Entire body silvery. 



Distribution: Occurs in warm seas. In the western Atlantic 



it is fairly common from North Carolina south and is 



abundant in the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. Single 



specimens are often taken in the Middle Atlantic region. 



It is a rare straggler north of Cape Cod. 



Size: This species is said to grow to a length of 5 feet. 



General Information: The Cutlass Fish probably spawns 



in spring. It is a predaceous species living chiefly on fish. 



Economic Importance: An edible fish but not marketed in 



quantity. 



Blue Marlin 

 Makaira ampla (Poey) 



Color: Back and upper sides dark blue with a copper tint. 

 Lower sides and belly pale gray-blue. Vertical, hazy violet- 

 blue bars on the sides. 



