(71 inches). It was taken off St. Thomas, Virgin 

 Islands. 



According to a personal communication from an 

 angler, a large blue marlin was taken in the northern 

 Gulf of Mexico, off northwest Florida, several years 

 ago. The stated total length was 427 cm (168 inches) 

 and the girth was 203 cm (80 inches). The fish was not 

 weighed because scales were not available but accord- 

 ing to the measurements it must have weighed in the 

 neighborhood of 455 kg (1,000 lb). 



Cuban commercial fishermen operating off Havana 

 have told me that, on several occasions, they have 

 taken "casteros," blue marlin weighing over 455 kg 

 (1,000 lb). These fish are taken well below the surface 

 with "palangres," a gear similar to the longline but 

 with fewer hooks. 



The largest blue marlin from the Pacific Ocean of- 

 ficially recorded by the International Game Fish 

 Association weighed 524 kg (1,153 lb) and measured 

 447 cm (176 inches) in total length with a girth of 185 

 cm (73 inches). It was taken off Guam. The former 

 record weighed 505 kg (1,110 lb) and measured 419 cm 

 (165 inches) in total length with a girth of 202 cm (79.5 

 inches). This fish was taken in the Indian Ocean off 

 Mauritius. 



Although not officially accepted as a world record 

 because three anglers participated in the catch, the 

 largest blue marlin known to date was caught in the 

 Pacific Ocean off Waikiki Beach in the Hawaiian 

 Islands. The fish weighed 820 kg (1,805 lb). 



The length-weight relationships given in Figures 1 

 and 2 are based on 58 males and 104 females from the 

 western Atlantic. A separate curve is given for each 

 sex. Each curve was eye-fitted by joining the points of 



mean length and weight for the upper, middle, and 

 lower thirds of the total range. The length was 

 measured from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of 

 the tail (Rivas, 1956). The curves show that, on the 

 average, males from about 190 to 220 cm in length 

 weigh less than females in the same length range. 

 Within this length range the mean weight of males is 

 77 kg (169 lb) and that of females 87 kg (191 lb). At 

 lengths of less than about 190 cm and more than 

 about 220 cm, the length-weight relationship is about 

 the same for males and females. 



Length-weight data for 7 juveniles, 90 males, and 24 

 females, mostly from Puerto Rico, were given in 

 tabular form by Erdman (1968). Merrett (1971) 

 presented length-weight relationships for about 16 

 specimens of blue marlin from the equatorial western 

 Indian Ocean. Strasburg (1969) gave a length-weight 

 curve for blue marlin from Hawaii covering a range of 

 about 76 to 495 cm (30 to 195 inches; fork length from 

 tip of bill) and about 750 kg (20 to 1,650 lb). 



4.2 Abundance and Density (of Population) 



4.21 Average abundance 

 There is no information available. 



4.22 Changes in abundance 

 See 2.3 and 3.33. 



4.23 Average density 

 There is no information available. 



i 



200 1 — 

 180 - 

 160 - 

 140 - 



O 120 



100 

 80 

 60 

 40 

 20 

 



MALES 



(N=58) 



_L 



^_ 



^L 



J_ 



j_ 



j_ 



__ 



J_ 



J_ 



140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 



LENGTH (CM) 



Figure 1. — The length-weight relationship of male blue marlin in the western Atlantic Ocean. 



10 



