martins is biologically deleterious to the stock, while 

 the angler should analyze if his indignation against 

 desiccated sailfish hanging on a rack is not really the 

 feeling for virtue, aesthetics, and sportsmanship. 

 Thus, we are faced with conservation versus aesthet- 

 ics: we must not confuse the two concepts. It is 

 perfectly justifiable to release a dozen sailfish, even 

 though they are already senescent, for sportsman- 

 ship purposes, in hopes that you may catch them 

 again or, if they are tagged, that you will catch one of 

 your own tagged fish. But one must be careful not to 

 confuse aesthetics with conservation. Conservation 

 means the wise utilization of existing stocks, based 

 upon scientific evidence, whereas aesthetics reflect 

 how the angler feels emotionally toward the same 

 stock, without benefit of adequate scientific evi- 

 dence. All too often our sport fishery for billfish, and 

 many other resources, has been regulated, legis- 

 lated, and dominated by aesthetic criteria rather than 

 by scientific facts. 



Billfishes can and should be used by many persons 

 and countries. These countries, and their alleged 

 factions of sport and commercial billfishermen, 

 tackle manufacturers, and boatmen, require a well- 

 coordinated regular program based on scientific evi- 

 dence which is, in turn, based upon goals mutually 

 decided upon by scientists, anglers, boat captains, 

 commercial fishermen, and outdoor writers. Such 

 programs could include tagging, stomach analysis, 

 gonad collection, and collection of environmental 

 information based upon data required by scientists. 

 Unless we obtain adequate scientific information on 

 this valuable resource, we may be faced with Orwel- 

 lian national and international regulations that none 

 of us can accept. 



The Billfish Tournament 



Friendly competition among men, as exemplified 

 by amateur sports, initially was intended to test 

 comparative feats of skill, strength, and endurance. 

 But the tournament may bring out the best and the 

 worst in all of us, and sometimes we forget why we 

 are fishing. The lure of prize money or trophies 

 frequently affects man, and his actions are not al- 

 ways what his original intentions were. Billfish tour- 

 naments usually involve strict rules of trolling, bait 

 usage, chumming, line tests, and method of release, 

 and an angler, or even his captain or mate, may be 

 tempted to overlook these rules if it seems expedi- 

 tious in order to win a tournament. While the competi- 

 tive sport of winning is important, it perhaps should 



not be reflected in trophies for the anglers and money 

 for the winning crew. An ideal tournament to dis- 

 courage bad sportsmanship is perhaps where 

 everyone wins a first prize. 



Tournaments have many advantages, however. 

 Anglers and captains have a chance to test their 

 skills, new tackle, and their Sportfishermen under 

 severe conditions imposed by intense fishing. The 

 comradeship at cocktail hour is perhaps underesti- 

 mated, for here old acquaintances are met and new 

 friendships made. These happy hours are especially 

 auspicious for the scientist, for here he can infor- 

 mally exchange information with anglers, captains, 

 and crew. Tournaments are also important in that 

 during a short period of time, a large number offish 

 may be brought in for research for scientific observa- 

 tions, or a great many billfishes can be tagged and 

 released, or a considerable number of nearly synop- 

 tic observations can be made by anglers and captains 

 on the fishing grounds. Successful tournaments are 

 frequently those in which angling and science work 

 together, especially when the angler and captain feel 

 that they are contributing something to science 

 which may improve their billfishing some day. The 

 Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is an 

 outstanding example of such cooperation. 



The Role of Local, State, 

 and National Governments 



Governments can benefit from encouraging bill- 

 fish angling in their waters because of the revenue 

 brought in by an angler and spent on boat charters, 

 hotel, food, and, especially, alcohol, airline travel, 

 car rental, and souvenirs, as well as miscellaneous 

 funds spent by his family which may accompany 

 him. Increasingly, more airways are including big- 

 game fishing as part of a package tour for a vacation. 

 Underwriting costs could be done by governments 

 for the acquisition and development of better sport- 

 fishing vessels, docks, fueling facilities, bait collec- 

 tion and storage, and exploratory angling for new 

 fishing grounds. Such costs can seldom be borne by 

 individual boat captains. Governments can offer in- 

 centives for the training of capable fishing mates, 

 and can reduce the high import taxes on boats, 

 gasoline, and tackle used in angling. 



All levels of government should be concerned 

 with protecting their valuable fisheries resources, as 

 well as developing them. Outmoded laws should be 

 re-evaluated and replaced with laws based on cur- 

 rent scientific findings. For such reasons, it is impor- 



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