Table 4. — Results of fecundity studies for eight Atlantic 

 sailfish ranging from 17.2 to 27.4 kg (38.0-62.5 lb). 





Total 



Ovary 



Body 



Ova/gram 



Est. 



Specimen 



wt 1 



wt 1 



wt 1 



wt 



fecundity 





(kg) 



(kg) 



(%) 







VI-14' 



18.1 



2.3 



12.7 



467 



819,412 



VI-15' 



17.2 



2.0 



11.6 



555 



750,000 



Not recorded 



28.4 



ca 2.4 



8.5 



457 



1,075,321 



VII I- 1 ' 



28.1 



ca2.6 



9.3 



498 



1,148,918 



VII-14' 



19.1 



2.0 



10.5 



890 



1,557,574 



IX-8 



28.4 



ca2.3 



8.1 



616 



1,297,850 



VIII-3' 



23.1 



1.9 



8.2 



580 



919,300 



VI-17 - 



22.2 



2.3 



10.4 



462 



891,270 



'Fresh weights recorded during field examination. 



Initial observations from plankton collections con- 

 firm that sailfish spawn throughout summer. Larval 

 and juvenile istiophorids 3 to 105 mm total length 

 were collected during April through October. 

 "Ripe" females were also prominent among adults 

 sampled during May through September (Fig. 11). 

 Spawning appears to be intense in mid-May through 

 September. Two peaks were apparent during the 

 spawning seasons (Fig. 11). A preliminary micro- 

 scopic examination of gonadal tissue from "ripe" 

 specimens and variation in the ovaries' percent of 

 total body weight and number of ova per gram weight 

 of ovary suggest multiple spawning. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Special appreciation is expressed to John 

 Rybovich, Jr., who helped organize and establish a 

 field laboratory in West Palm Beach. Mr. Rybovich 

 has been a constant source of help and enthusiasm 

 during the entire project. Frances Doucet and staff 

 of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club provided pro- 

 fessional and secretarial services. The Phipps 

 Foundation and Don J. S. Merten (Tournament of 

 Champions winner, 1972) have provided financial 

 assistance through cooperation with Game Fish Re- 

 search Association, Inc. of West Palm Beach. Ap- 

 preciation is extended to all anglers, sport fishing 

 captains, and other local interests who directly or 

 indirectly contributed to the project's success but 

 who are too numerous to mention by name. 



I am indebted to Al Pflueger, Jr. and James D. 

 Smith of Pflueger Taxidermy for providing fresh 

 specimens. Walter C. Jaap provided photographs of 

 spines and spinal sections and Henry Kamiya 



60 

 55 



50 

 45 

 40 

 35 

 30 

 25 

 20 

 15 

 10 

 5 



N = 2 2 7 



J J A S O N D 

 1970 



MAM 

 1 971 



Figure 1-1. — "Ripe" sailfish expressed as a percentage of 

 total females examined monthly. 



drafted figures. Robert M. Ingle, Edwin A. Joyce, 

 Jr., Robert W. Topp, Charles R. Futch, and espe- 

 cially Dale S. Beaumariage provided guidance and 

 editorial review. 



LITERATURE CITED 



BAGENAL, T. B., and E. BRAUM. 



1968. Eggs and early life history. In W. E. Ricker (editor). 

 Methods for assessment offish production in fresh waters, 

 p. 159-181. Blackwell Sci. Publ., Oxford. 



BEAUMARIAGE, D. S. 



In press. Age, growth and reproduction of king mackerel, 

 Scomberomorus cavalla, in Florida. Fla. Mar. Res. Publ. 

 CHRISTENSEN, J. M. 



1964. Burning of otoliths, a technique for age determination 

 of soles and other fish. J. Cons. 29:73-81. 



DE SYLVA, D. P. 



1957. Studies on the age and growth of the Atlantic sailfish, 

 Istiophorus americanus (Cuvier), using length-frequency 

 curves. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb. 7:1-20. 



1969. Trends in marine sport fisheries research. Trans. Am. 

 Fish. Soc. 98:151-169. 



ELLIS, R. W. 



1957. Catches offish by charter boats on Florida's east coast. 

 Univ. Miami Mar. Lab.. Spec. Serv. Bull. 14, 6 p. 

 KOTO, T., and K. KODAMA. 



1962. Some considerations on the growth of marlins, using 

 size-frequencies in commercial catches. I. Attempts to 

 estimate the growth of sailfish. [In Jap., Engl, summ.] 

 Rep. Nankai Reg. Fish. Res. Lab. 15:97-108. 

 McCLANE, A. J. 



1965. McClane's standard fishing encyclopedia. Holt. 

 Rinehart and Winston, Inc., N. Y., 295 p. 



MERRETT, N. R. 



1968. Weight-length relationships for certain scombroid 

 fishes from the equatorial western Indian Ocean. East Afr. 

 Agric. For. J. 34:165-169. 



87 



