year with the annual tagging report varied from 

 1 ,900 to 2,600. 



RESULTS 



Approximately 50% of the survey cards were re- 

 turned within a 3-mo period and the number of an- 

 gler days in each of the major fishing areas, the 

 number of billfishes caught, and calculations of 

 numbers of fish per angler day and numbers of days 

 of fishing per fish are given in Table 1 . 



The combined totals for the fishing areas off 

 southern California, U.S.A., about the tip of Baja 

 California, Mazatlan, and Acapulco, Mexico, and 



1969 1970 1971 



YEAR 



Figure 2. — Sport fishing catch per day for striped marlin 

 in the eastern Pacific. 



Cairns, Queensland, Australia, were 17,876 angler 

 days, catching 10.234 biiltlshes for an average of 

 0.57 fish per day and 1.75 days of fishing for each 

 billfish. 



A breakdown of the totals given in Table 1 for 

 each year is presented in Table 2. 



For these selected fishing areas the annual statis- 

 tics from the survey on total catch and effort are as 

 follows: 1969. 6,286 angler days, 3,404 billfishes 

 caught equaling 0.54 fish per day and 1.90 days of 

 fishing per fish; 1970, 6.286 angler days, 3.588 bill- 

 fishes caught equaling 0.58 fish per day and 1.75 

 days of fishing per fish; 1971, 5,304 angler days. 



I.O-f 

 0.9 

 0.8 

 0.7- 

 0.6- 

 0.5- 

 0.4- 

 0.3- 

 02- 

 0.1- 

 0- 



MAZATLAN 

 N fish = 900 



BAJA CALIFORNIA 

 N fish = 964 



1970 

 YEAR 



Figure 3. — Sport fishing catch per day for sailfish in the 

 eastern Pacific. 



3,242 billfishes caught equaling 0.61 fish per day 

 and 1.64 days of fishing per fish. 



A graphic presentation of the catch per effort 

 data is given for striped mariin Tetroptitnis ciiidax 

 in Figure 2; for sailfish Istiophonis pUiTypterus in 

 Figure 3; and for black marlin Makaira indica in 

 Figure 4. Catch per effort data for combined 



Figure 4. — Sport fishing catch per day for black marlin off 

 Queensland. Australia. 



292 



