Strait of Messina, T. belone is caught at night with 

 "palamidara," vertical nets used to catch albacore, 

 Thunnus alalunga. Possibly T. belone is feeding at 

 this time, although no reports on feeding or food 

 habits based on night-caught specimens are forthcom- 

 ing. 



3.42 Food 



The food of T. belone was discussed by Robins and 

 de Sylva (1963:95), based on specimens caught by 

 fishermen. Since specimens reported on from Sicily 

 were not fresh, and many had been ultimately frozen, 

 thawed, and refrozen, most contained only un- 

 recognizable remains. Many had fish skeletons, which 

 were evidently of Atlantic sauries and sardinelike 

 vertebrae. A few contained the needlefish Belone 

 belone. Rafinesque (1810) reported that in autumn off 

 the Sicilian coast, T. belone pursues dolphins; pilot- 

 fish, Naucrates; and flyingfishes. 



3.5 Behavior 



3.51 Migrations and local movements 



Seasonal movements of T. belone are based entirely 

 upon their capture by commercial fishermen. Distinct 

 migrations are not documented, nor is it known 

 whether the appearances of T. belone in the commer- 

 cial fishery results in longitudinal or vertical 

 movements to the surface fishery where they can be 

 captured by harpoons and shallow nets. 



Adults occur in the Strait of Messina, the area of 

 heavy fishing, in August and September, and occa- 

 sionally in October and November. Some examples 

 are rarely captured in winter (Sparta, 1953, 1961; 

 Cavaliere, 1962; Bini, 1968). 



3.52 Schooling 



No mention is made in the literature as to the 

 schooling of T. belone, but it seems unlikely because 

 other istiophorids do not school in the strict sense. 

 Rafinesque (1810) and Valenciennes (1831) reported 

 that T. belone frequently travels in pairs, this being 

 known to occur in other istiophorids, possibly being a 

 behavioral mechanism for feeding. 



4 POPULATION 

 4.1 Structure 



Nothing is known of the sex ratio or age composition 

 of the populations of T. belone. Robins and de Sylva 

 (1963:96) reported that of 27 specimens taken off Sici- 

 ly by commercial fishermen, 19 were males and 8 

 females. 



The usual size composition of the commercial catch 

 of T. belone is from 10 to 30 kg (Cavaliere, 1962:172), 

 averaging about 2 m long (Sparta, 1961:20). 



Specimens of 4 to 5 kg are rarely caught. Maximum 

 size reported is about 70 kg (Rafinesque, 1810). 



5 EXPLOITATION 



5.1 Fishing Equipment 



The fishery for T. belone occurs incidentally to that 

 carried out for the swordfish (Sparta, 1961; Cavaliere, 

 1962:174). In the Strait of Messina, the major gear is 

 the harpoon (fiocini), although T. belone is occasion- 

 ally captured in nets (ravastina) which are used for 

 Atlantic sauries, locally called "costardella," on 

 which T. belone feeds. To the south T. belone is oc- 

 casionally caught in vertical nets (palamidare) which 

 are used principally for albacore. 



5.2 Fishing Areas 



5.21 General geographic distribution 

 See 5.22. 



5.22 Geographic ranges 



The fishing area in the Strait of Messina (both 

 Sicilian and Calabrian coasts) occurs from Bagnara- 

 Capo Rasocolmo in the north in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 

 and from Capo Giardini-Melito di Porto Salvo to the 

 south in the Ionian Sea. In addition to the harpoon 

 fishery, a few specimens of T. belone are caught in 

 traps set for tuna in the Gulf of Castellammare and 

 near the towns of Torretta Granitola and Marinella. 

 Little is known specifically about the fishing grounds 

 in the remainder of the Mediterranean Sea, and no 

 quantitative data are available on the annual or 

 seasonal catch in various counties. 



Francesca R. LaMonte kindly sent me an English 

 translation of a paper by Mazzullo (1906) which 

 documents the swordfish fishery in the Strait of 

 Messina; because this fishery also captures T. belone, 

 the techniques and gear used in the fishery are 

 noteworthy. Mazzullo gives a general summary of the 

 composition of manpower in a typical fishing opera- 

 tion for swordfish off Sicily, including the number and 

 kinds of personnel involved per vessel and the even- 

 tual distribution of fish and profits. 



6 PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT 



6.1 Regulatory (Legislative) Measures 

 No data. 



6.2 Control or Alteration of Physical Features of 

 the Environment 



See 6.3. 



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