Striped marlin have been estimated to grow 30 

 pounds a year. Age and growth of other central 

 Pacific billfishes have not been studied. 



In the Atlantic, growth of Atlantic sailfish is rapid 

 and the lifespan short. Fish hatched in June were 56 

 inches long and weighed 7 pounds by November. At 

 the end of a year they measured 72 inches long and 

 weighed 21 pounds; at 3 years they were 92 inches 

 long and weighed 63 pounds. Few fish attained 4 

 years of age. 



Migrations 



As do several other high seas species, billfishes 

 undertake large-scale migrations. Evidence for these 

 movements has been inferred from seasonal changes 

 in abundance and from the recapture of individuals 

 tagged in various ways. Because of the size and 

 armament of billfish, most tagging has been done by 

 harpoons fitted with detachable dart-tag heads. This 

 method precludes measuring or weighing the fish. 



Striped marlin and Pacific sailfish have been 

 tagged off southern California and Mexico. In 1967, 

 1,279 striped marlin, 491 sailfish, 23 blue marlin, 

 3 black marlin, and smaller numbers of other fishes 

 (total, 1,839 fish) were tagged and released. Tag 

 returns included 20 striped marlin and 2 Pacific sail- 

 fish, according to the Tiburon Marine Laboratory of 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Sport 

 Fisheries and Wildlife. These recoveries, and others 

 made in the Cooperative Game Fish Tagging Program, 

 indicate that in spring and summer some of the mar- 

 lin move from near the Gulf of California around the 

 tip of Baja California and are moving northward when 

 they are again captured; in the fall some of the fish 

 are moving south, but some are near the mouth of the 

 Gulf all year. The longest distance traveled by any 

 of the tagged fish was about 3,000 miles--a striped 

 marlin tagged off the tip of Baja California was taken 

 by a fishing vessel 200 miles southwest of the Hawai- 

 ian Islands. It had been tagged in mid-February and 

 was recovered in mid-May. According to previous 

 records, skipjack tuna tagged off Baja California also 

 have migrated to Hawaii, but the interval between 

 tagging and recapture was more than a year, rather 

 than 3 months, as with the striped marlin. 



Evidence on the migrations of billfish in the central 

 Pacific Ocean is being sought by the Bureau of Com- 



