and Davis 1963), with similar results as far as prey 

 species and relative abundance are concerned. They 

 also found, however, dolphin, sand lances, Am- 

 modytes tobianus, and anchovies, Anchoa browni. 



3.43 Growth rate 



Ages of white marlin have not been determined, but 

 some estimates of growth in time intervals have been 

 attempted. De Sylva and Davis (1963, Figs. 1-5) 

 presented histograms of size frequencies for white 

 marlin caught in various years and in different areas 

 in the western North Atlantic. They believe that these 

 fish school according to size and return to certain 

 fishing areas in these groups. A strong year class ap- 

 parently occurred from 1957 to 1959 at Ocean City, 

 Md., peaking at 20 kg in 1957, 24.1 kg in 1958, and 

 28.6 kg in 1959. The difference between the modal 

 sizes in consecutive years presumably represents the 

 annual growth for these hypothetical year classes. 



Nakamura (1971) calculated the constants a and b 

 in the equation, W = a L b (W = weight in pounds 

 and L = total length in inches), describing the length- 

 weight relationships for white marlin taken in the 

 Gulf of Mexico. He presented the length-weight-girth 



calculations for fish from 70 to 110 inches (177.8 to 

 279.4 cm) in total length which resulted from the 

 measurements taken on 162 individuals ranging from 

 75 to 100 inches (195.6 to 254 cm) in total length 

 (Table 5). 



3.44 Metabolism 



Metabolic rates of the white marlin have not been 

 determined. 



3.5 Behavior 



3.51 Migrations and local movements 



Seasonal changes in distribution led to suppositions 

 about the migrations of white marlin, but tagging has 

 provided more positive information. In the first tag- 

 ging efforts at Ocean City, Md., in the summer of 1939, 

 Earle (1940) marked 84 white marlin, but none of 

 these tags were returned. Tagging by the Cooperative 

 Game Fish Tagging Program of the Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution, U.S.A., (Mather, 1960; 

 Mather et al., 1972; Mather et al., 1974) has pro- 

 duced considerable insights into the movements of 

 white marlin in the western North Atlantic. As of 



Table 5. — Calculated weights and girths for white marlin, 70-1 10 inches total 

 length, based on 162 specimens, New Orleans Big Game Fishing Club, 1966, 

 1968, 1970, with size range and constants shown. 



Source: Nakamura, 1971, Tables 27 and 29. 



74 



