Table 9. — Atlantic City, New Jersey, Marlin Tournament, 

 results 1955-70, from the Atlantic City Public Relations 

 Department. 



New Orleans Big Game Fishing Club from 1966 to 

 1970 were 151, 113, 95, 38, and 22 respectively 

 (Nakamura, 1971), and in Venezuela in 1970, 190 

 white marlin were caught in 3 days of September from 

 45 sport fishing boats (Anon., 1970). The Ocean City 

 catches for the first active season of marlin fishing in 

 1936 were 175 but by 1939 the figure had jumped to 

 1,343 (Earle, 1940). Table 10 shows the white marlin 

 landings in Ocean City from 1936 to 1971 (June and 

 Reintjes, 1957; Reintjes and Roithmayr, 1960; Ocean 

 City Marlin Club, pers. commun.) In 1972 Ocean City 

 Public Relations reports 837 marlin recorded by the 

 2nd of October; while boats based at Hatteras and 

 Oregon Inlet, N.C., reported catching 1,212 white 

 marlin in 1971 (Oregon Inlet Charter Boat Associa- 

 tion, pers. commun.). 



6 PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT 

 6.1 Regulatory (Legislative) Measures 



6.11 Limitation or reduction of total catch 



At the present time no limitations have been put on 

 the white marlin fishery by any legislative body. The 

 need for such measures is being studied and may be 

 considered in the future by the International Commis- 

 sion for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. This 

 body has been given regulatory authority over both 

 tunas and billfisheries to maintain maximum 

 sustainable yield. 



6.12 Protection of portions of population 



Although no official protection measures are 

 presently in force, conservation of this species is being 

 carried on by sport fishermen in many areas. Ocean 



City, Md., is one major area where conservation has 

 become the rule rather than the exception. In 1934 

 only 84 out of 1,343 fish caught were released back 

 into the ocean even though they would serve no prac- 

 tical purpose, but up to July in the 1956 season 500 of 

 approximately 800 fish caught were released 

 (Migdalski, 1958). Continuing this practice, nearly 

 60% of the Ocean City catch is released yearly, many 

 with tags from the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution to aid in tracing the migrations of the 

 white marlin (Brooks, 1968). 



Oregon Inlet, N.C., and southern New Jersey 

 fishermen, too, are deeply involved in this important 

 conservation effort. Of the 1,212 white marlin caught 

 by Hatteras and Oregon Inlet-based boats in 1971, 800 

 were reported released and many of these were tagged 

 (Oregon Inlet Charter Boat Association, pers. com- 

 mun.). 



Other areas where tagging and releasing of fish are 

 practiced include Long Island, Cape Cod, the 

 Bahamas, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Virgin Islands, 

 and off Venezuela (Mather et al., 1972). Table 11 

 shows the number of white marlin tagged by years in 

 these various areas by cooperating sport fishermen 

 and the numbers of tags returned. 



6.2 Control or Alteration of Physical Features of 

 the Environment 



Nothing found in the literature. 



6.3 Control or Alteration of Chemical Features of 

 the Environment 



Nothing found in the literature. 



6.4 Control or Alteration of the Biological 

 Features of the Environment 



Nothing found in the literature. 



6.5 Artificial Stocking 

 Nothing found in the literature. 



7 FISH POND CULTURE 

 Not applicable. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The preparation of this synopsis was supported by 

 the Office of Sea Grant, National Oceanic and At- 

 mospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Commerce Grant Nos. GH-82 and 04-3-158-12 

 and the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 

 U.S. Department of Commerce, Contract No. 03-3- 

 043-29. 



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