Spanish: pez aguja corta 

 Tetraptunts audox (Philippi) 



Chinese (PRC): ch'i-tso-shih-ch'iang-yii 



Chinese (RC): hung-jou-ch'i-yii 



English: Striped marlin 



Japanese: makajiki 



Korean: 



Spanish: marHn rayado 

 Makaira mazara (Jordan and Snyder) 



Chinese (PRC): lan-ch'iang-yii 



Chinese (RC): hei-p'i-ch'i-yii 



English; Blue marlin 



Japanese: kurokajiki 



Korean: nog-saeg-chi 



Spanish: marlin azul 

 Makaira indica (Cuvier) 



Chinese (PRC): 



Chinese (RC): pai-p'i-ch"i-yii 



English: Black marlin 



Japanese: shirokajiki 



Korean: 



Spanish: marlin negro 

 Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw and Nodder) 



Chinese (PRC): tung-fang-ch'i-yii 



Chinese (RC): pa-chiao-ch'i-yii 



English: Sailfish 



Japanese: bashokajiki 



Korean: dot-sae-chi 



Spanish: pez vela 



The term billfish in this report is meant to include 

 all of the six species listed above. 



Two of the six species which occur in the eastern 

 Pacific are widespread and rather evenly distrib- 

 uted throughout the Pacific Ocean. Striped marlin 

 occur between approximately lat. 45°N and 40°S 

 with the heaviest concentration in the eastern 

 Pacific east of long. 115°W. The distribution of blue 

 marlin is nearly identical to that of striped marlin; 

 however, it is more restricted in a north-south di- 

 rection, from about lat. 40°N to 35°S. The major 

 concentration of blue marlin in the Pacific is be- 

 tween the equator and lat. 10°N, from long. 130°W 

 to 145°E. 



The remaining four species, although distributed 

 widely throughout the Pacific Ocean, show a 

 somewhat more patchy distribution. Swordfish, 

 which extend more poleward than the other bill- 

 fishes, occur between about lat. 50°N and 40°S. 

 Black marlin, which are found between about lat. 

 35°N and 30°S, are most concentrated in the west- 

 em Pacific and occur in high concentration only 

 sporadically in the eastern Pacific. Sailfish and 



shortbill spearfish are found throughout the Pacific 

 between about lat. 35°N and 25°S. Although there is 

 much confusion in the catch statistics of these two 

 species, the higher concentrations of sailfish appear 

 to be more associated with landmasses than those 

 of shortbill spearfish; the latter seem to be more 

 abundant in warmer waters. 



Sport fisheries for billfishes have existed in the 

 eastern Pacific Ocean for the last 70 years. Minor 

 commerical fisheries for some of the billfish species 

 have existed for a long time. Striped marlin and 

 swordfish particularly have been harvested com- 

 mercially in waters off California and Mexico since 

 about 1915 (Frey, 1971) and off Peru and Ecuador 

 by subsistence fishermen since long before that. 

 There were no substantial fisheries for billfish in the 

 eastern Pacific until about 1956 when Japanese ves- 

 sels first began taking billfish in large quantities. 

 The Japanese method of fishing called longlining 

 involves the use of long lines of gear, up to 120 km 

 long, from which baited hooks are hung to a depth 

 of about 80 to 200 m. Approximately 2,000 hooks 

 are used in each operadon of the gear. 



The first longlining for billfish (and tunas) in the 

 eastern Pacific was conducted by the Pacific 

 Oceanic Fishery Investigations (POFI) of the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1952 and 1954, 18 

 longline sets were made from POFI vessels 

 (Royce, 1957). 



Similar experimental fishing for billfishes was 

 conducted by the California Department of Fish 

 and Game (Wilson and Shimada, 1955; Mais and 

 Jow, 1960). Striped marlin and swordfish were 

 fished commercially unfil 1937 when it became il- 

 legal to land and sell striped marlin; swordfish is 

 still a commercial species. 



In 1954 and 1955, in connection with underwater 

 nuclear tests conducted on the high seas southwest 

 of California, four longline cruises were undertaken 

 by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). 

 These operations produced unspecified catches of 

 billfish (Shimada, 1962). More details of these 

 cruises are probably contained in the AEC Techni- 

 cal Reports Nos. WT-1013 and WT-1019 printed in 

 1956 but, although declassified, these reports are 

 difficult to obtain. 



All of the cruises discussed above were of a non- 

 commercial nature. As already noted the first major 

 commercial operation for billfish in the eastern 

 Pacific started in late 1956 when Japanese longline 

 vessels, which until then had been operaUng in the 

 area west of long. 130°W, commenced to fish east of 



310 



