- FEMALE 

 ■MALE 



60 70 80 90 100 



EYE- FORK LENGTH (mches) 



Figure 1. — Relationship of weight and eye-fork length of 

 white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) by sex. 



Multivariate analysis was also used to determine if 

 white marlin could be allocated to Florida or 

 Louisiana given weight, caudal spread, and the 

 measures of length. White marlin could not be so 

 allocated. 



A review of the literature revealed that very little 

 had been done on length-weight relations of bill- 

 fishes in the western Atlantic Ocean. De Sylva and 

 Davis (1963) estimated the relation between body 

 length and weight for white marlin and noted the 

 same sexual difference found in this study. De Sylva 

 (1957) plotted weight and total lengths of sailfish but 

 did not estimate the parameters of the relation. 



The results of our analyses will permit conver- 

 sions from one type of length to another and also will 

 provide better estimates of weight from length plus 

 girth measurements. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Many people aided in establishing our sampling 

 stations in the Gulf of Mexico and in obtaining the 

 data. These include G. Maddox, L. Ogren, J. Yurt, 

 R. Metcalfe, J. Ogle, J. Lockfaw, and R. Schwartz. 

 Cooperative scientists who provided data from their 

 files were D. Erdman, L. Rivas, J. Casey, and F. 

 Mather. III. Officers and members of the New Or- 



62r- 



60- 



01 



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=■ 56- 



x 



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z 



LU 



-■52- 



S£ 



O 50- 

 U. 



uj 48 _ 



LU 



46- 



44 



■i' 



i i i i i i i ' i I 



8 10 



14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 



CAUDAL SPREAD (inches) 



Figure 2. — Relationship of eye-fork length and caudal 

 spread of white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) by sex. 



leans Big Game Fishing Club, Mobile Big Game 

 Fishing Club, Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, 

 Destin Charter Boat Association, and the Panama 

 City Charter Boat Association were extremely 

 cooperative. To all of these people, we owe a debt of 

 gratitude. And finally, we thank all the cooperative 

 boat captains and anglers for allowing us to examine 

 their catches. 



LITERATURE CITED 



DE SYLVA, D.P. 



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



65- 



60- 



55 



- 50 



x 



o 45 



Ul 



-J 40 



5£ 

 K 

 p 35 



£ 30 

 Ul 



25 

 20. 



FEMALE 

 •MALE 



_L_ 



_i_ 



_L 



10 15 20 



CAUDAL SPREAD (inch««) 



25 



30 



Figure 3. — Relationship of eye-fork length and caudal 

 spread of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) by sex. 



124 



