February through April off Izu Island, and from 

 December to February in the East China Sea. Fish- 

 ing conditions seem to be greatly affected by the 

 position of the Kuroshio Current in coastal waters. 



RECENT STATUS 

 OF BILLFISH PRODUCTION 



The average annual world catch of billfishes dur- 

 ing 1968-70 amounted to approximately 103,000 tons 

 (FAO, 1971). Of this total, swordfish comprised 

 roughly 30%, striped marlin 25%, and blue and black 

 marlins, combined, 25% (Fig. 10). 



BLUE & BLACK 

 MARLIN 



STRIPED 

 MARLIN 



SWORDFISH 



SAILFISH 



WHITE 

 MARLIN 



Figure 10. — Average percentage composition of world 

 billfish catch, by species and by ocean, 1968-70. 

 (I — Indian Ocean, P — Pacific Ocean, and A — Atlantic 

 Ocean.) 



Japan produced approximately 55% (about 20,000 

 tons) of the total swordfish landings. Canada, Spain, 

 Taiwan, Peru, and Italy each landed from 1,000 to 

 5,000 tons, and together with Japan accounted for 

 more than 90% of the total catch. 



Excluding swordfish, the combined longline 

 fisheries of Japan and Taiwan produced 94% of the 

 total landings. The Japanese longline fishery alone 

 was responsible for about 75% of the total world 

 catch of these several species. 



The 1961-70 world catches of billfishes (all species 

 combined) and of swordfish alone, are shown in 

 Figure 1 1. With the expansion of the Japanese long- 

 line fishing grounds, the total catch of billfishes in- 

 creased from about 80,000 tons in 1961 to a peak of 

 about 110,000 tons in 1964-65. This peak corres- 

 ponded to the time when the fishery first covered the 

 entire distributional range of the billfishes in the 

 Pacific. Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. 



Total annual landings have slightly decreased 



120 

 110 

 100 

 «0 

 80 

 70 

 60 

 SO 

 40 

 30 

 20 

 10 



Figure 1 1. — Annual world catch of billfishes (all species 

 combined) and of swordfish (exclusively), 1961-70. 



since 1966, leveling off at around 100,000 to 105,000 

 tons. The swordfish, which makes up about 30% of 

 the billfish catches, did not show a similar decrease 

 after 1966. Rather, the catches tended to increase 

 gradually. 



^ 60 

 O 



JAPAN /WORLD 



1961 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 



Figure 12. — Annual world production and Japanese pro- 

 duction of billfishes, 1961-70. 



In Figure 12 is shown Japan's catch of billfishes in 

 relation to the world catch for the years 1961-70. 

 Japan's catch began increasing in 1961 and reached a 

 peak of 90,000 tons in 1965. Thereafter, the catches 

 decreased yearly. This decrease was reflected in the 

 trend in world catch. However, the decrease after 

 1967 in the Japanese catch was partially offset by an 

 increase in landings of the longliners from Taiwan. 



The decrease in billfish landings by the Japanese 

 vessels after 1967 was caused by a combination of 

 reduced fishing effort in the Atlantic Ocean and the 

 shifting of vessels into the Indian Ocean. Here a 

 large part of the effort went to fishing southern 



