captured from 1949 to 1951 in Hawaiian waters also 

 showed large fluctuations in weight distribution be- 

 tween successive months. The weight distribution in 

 January was broad, with 100- to 300-pound fish 

 dominating the catch. By April the distribution 

 shifted toward heavier fish, 300- to 500-pounders, 

 which were presumably females. By June the light- 

 weight fish appeared in numbers, and judging by the 

 Billfish Tournament data, they were males. These 

 light fish dominated the summer catch, reached their 

 peak in September, and then slowly declined. By 

 December the situation was similar to that in January. 

 The weight-frequency distribution of Hawaiian 

 striped marlin has two peaks through part of the 

 year. From January through August striped marlin 

 in the 20- to 60-pound and 80- to 120-pound sizes are 

 common. During the rest of the year, most striped 

 marlin are 60 to 120 pounds. Furthermore, the 

 number of fish caught is not uniform but is very low 

 in summer. The catch improves in autumn, when the 

 fish are heavier than those taken in spring. Whether 

 the modes are related to the temporary abundance of 

 one sex, as in blue marlin, is unknown. 



Seasonal Occurrence 



Figure 3 illustrates the seasonality of the occur- 

 rence in Hawaii of blue and striped marlin. Blue 

 marlin are most abundant in the summer and least 

 abundant in the winter. Striped marlin tend to occur 



Figure 3 Seasonal occurrence of blue marlin, 

 striped marlin, and skipjack tuna in Hawaii, 

 1958-67, based on commercial fishery landings. 



JAN. FEB. MAR APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT OCT NOV. DEC. 



