ABSTRACT 



The billfishes are found in all warm seas. In the 

 central Pacific, the striped and blue marlins are 

 common or abundant; the black marlin is uncommon; 

 the Pacific sailfish, broadbill swordfish, and shortbill 

 spearfish are rarely caught. These fishes feed 

 broadly on fish, squid, crustaceans, and other foods 

 available on the high seas. In commercial catches of 

 blue marlin in Hawaii, males and females appear in 

 about equal numbers; but on a short-term basis, one 

 sex can predominate. During the Hawaiian Inter- 

 national Billfish Tournaments, which are held during 

 the summer, more males are usually caught than 

 females. In the commercial catch, the heaviest blue 

 marlin (300-500 pounds) were taken in the spring, the 

 lightest in the summer. Striped marlin show two 

 peaks of abundance through part of the year. Blue 

 marlin are most abundant in the summer. Striped 

 marlin tend to occur in large numbers just when the 

 blue marlin are least abundant. The longest migra- 

 tion recorded in the central Pacific was 3,000 miles, 

 by a striped marlin that was tagged off Baja Califor- 

 nia, Mexico, later caught near the Hawaiian Islands. 



