Table 11. — Regression of morphometric character on eye-fork length (cm) for pooled 

 (sexes) samples of striped marlin from the eastern Pacific. Weight-length relation is based 

 on log transformed data (log Y = a + b log X): all other relations are based on untrans- 

 formed data (Y = a + bX). 









Range of 





Character 



a 



b 



length 

 (cm) 



N 



Buena Vista 











Weight (kg) 



-5.356 



3.154 



119.6-215.1 



1073 



Maximum body depth (cm) 



1.578 



0.184 



123.1-215.1 



567 



Depth at vent (cm) 



-2.669 



0.170 



123.1-215.1 



533 



Length of pectoral fin (cm) 



-0.333 



0.261 



123.1-215.1 



671 



Length of pelvic fin (cm) 



38.797 



-0.020 



119.6-201.4 



475 



Snout to mandible length (cm) 



13.656 



0.098 



123.1-215.1 



487 



Snout to eye length (cm) 



15.750 



0.264 



125.0-197.5 



145 



Dorsal fin height (cm) 



9.171 



0.178 



119.6-201.4 



562 



Length of maxillary (cm) 



5.234 



0.169 



119.6-201.4 



559 



Mazatlan 











Weight (kg) 



-5.143 



3.045 



110.0-204.5 



449 



Maximum body depth (cm) 



-3.642 



0.207 



116.8-204.5 



180 



Depth at vent (cm) 



-0.038 



0.148 



118.8-204.5 



180 



Length of pectoral fin (cm) 



-3.225 



0.274 



116.8-204.5 



189 



Length of pelvic fin (cm) 



33.018 



0.021 



110.0-202.6 



254 



Snout to mandible length (cm) 



14.556 



0.088 



116.8-197.0 



124 



Snout to eye length (cm) 



19.061 



0.236 



124.0-204.5 



51 



Dorsal fin height (cm) 



10.526 



0.169 



118.9-202.6 



111 



Length of maxillary (cm) 



7.840 



0.152 



118.9-202.6 



234 



San Diego 











Weight (kg) 



-4.439 



2.781 



127.0-203.3 



460 



Maximum body depth (cm) 



8.400 



0.152 



129.4-201.5 



425 



Depth at vent (cm) 



2.245 



0.152 



129.4-201.5 



424 



Length of pectoral fin (cm) 



8.262 



0.204 



127.0-203.3 



461 



Snout to mandible length (cm) 



14.363 



0.097 



133.7-201.5 



397 



Snout to eye length (cm) 



21.302 



0.238 



133.7-192.5 



218 



Dorsal fin height (cm) 



2.534 



0.203 



127.0-203.3 



34 



Length of maxillary (cm) 



10.017 



0.144 



127.0-203.3 



33 



covered that the length of the pectoral fin was sig- 

 nificantly longer in fish caught in the South Pacific 

 (lat. 18 = -25°S) than in the North Pacific (lat. 

 30°-35°N). In Figure 10, we have superimposed 

 Kamimura and Honma's equations on a band that 

 represents the equations calculated from our data 

 on pectoral fin lengths. The North Pacific sample is 

 most similar to ours, which is from about lat. 

 20°-35°N. The South Pacific fish, on the other hand, 

 have definitely longer pectoral fins than our samples, 

 but only for fish less than about 210 cm long. 



Data on length of pectoral fin for nine striped 

 marlin (for which eye-fork length was available) re- 

 ported by Royce (1957) from the central and eastern 



equatorial Pacific are also plotted in Figure 10. The 

 plots indicate that either there is mixing in the cen- 

 tral Pacific of the presumed South and North 

 Pacific stocks of striped marlin or Kamimura and 

 Honma's samples did not adequately reflect the de- 

 gree of variability in length of pectoral fin of fish 

 from the North and South Pacific. 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING 

 REMARKS 



Morphometric data for 57 female blue marlin are 

 presented; comparisons with fish from other areas 

 were omitted due to the small sample size. For sail- 

 fish it appears that characters such as maximum 



119 



