fishing grounds, followed by the North Pacific re- 

 gion. The catch in the North Pacific region has fluc- 

 tuated from year to year and the 1970 catch in that 

 region was particularly high. 



Blue marlin — There has been a trend toward de- 

 creased landings of blue marlin between 1963 and 

 1968. This trend was particularly marked in the 

 South Pacific region. The increased catches in the 

 North Pacific region in 1969 and 1970 were responsi- 

 ble for reversing the downward trend. 



Sailfish — A negligible amount of shortbill spear- 

 fish is included in the catch statistics for this cate- 

 gory. Since 1965, the catches of sailfish have largely 

 been made in the eastern Pacific region. The land- 

 ings have been marked with considerable fluctua- 

 tions from year to year. 



INDIAN OCEAN 



no 6 ) 

 f> 



So ioo 



?o 



\l 



z o 



100 



do 3 ) 



100 



x 



100 



100 



100 



SWORDFISH 



STRIPED MARLIN 



BLUE MARLIN 



-• •- 



BLACK MARLIN 



-• •- 



SAILFISH 



Figure 15. — Annual total longline fishing effort (upper 

 panel) and annual catch of billfishes (lower panel) from 

 the Indian Ocean, 1962-70. 



Indian Ocean 



The catch and effort data of billfishes from the 

 Indian Ocean are shown in Figure 15. 



Swordfish — The slight increase in swordfish land- 

 ings after 1966 seems to reflect increased fishing 

 effort. 



Striped marlin — The catches have varied consid- 

 erably but were relatively high during 1965-67. 



Blue marlin — The catch of blue marlin tended to 

 correspond with the amount of fishing effort ex- 

 pended until about 1966. Beginning in 1967, the catch 

 decreased in spite of increased fishing effort. 



Black marlin — The average annual catch was ap- 

 proximately 36,000 fish. The catches remained rela- 

 tively steady from year to year. 



Sailfish — The catch of sailfish varied considerably 

 from year to year and resembled the catch trend for 

 the striped marlin. 



Atlantic Ocean 



The catch and effort data of billfishes from the 

 Atlantic Ocean are shown in Figure 16. 



Swordfish — The catches generally corresponded 

 with fishing effort through 1968 but increased in 1969 



ATLANTIC OCEAN 



l/> 



a:* 100 



LU O 



go 



100 



C10 3 ) 



200 



W 100 



to 



§ 100 



z 



100 



SWORDFISH 



WHITE MARLIN 



O.CPUE 



BLUE MARLIN 



SAILFISH 



20 

 1.5 

 -1.0 



05 



Figure 16. — Annual total longline fishing effort (upper 

 panel) and annual catch of billfishes (lower panel) from the 

 Atlantic Ocean, 1962-70. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) is 

 shown for white marlin only. 



