Migration Patterns of Istiophoridae in the Pacific Ocean 

 as Determined by Cooperative Tagging Programs 



JAMES L. SQUIRE. JR. 1 



ABSTRACT 



Since 1954, billfish have been tagged by cooperative marine game fish tagging programs in many of 

 the major sportfishing areas of the Pacific. Major locations of tagging have been off southern California, 

 U.S.A., Baja California Sur and mainland Mexico, Panama, and Australia. Two cooperative marine 

 game fish tagging programs have operated in the Pacific, 1) the Cooperative Marine Game Fish Tagging 

 Program, sponsored jointly by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, and 2) a cooperative program conducted 

 by the California Department of Fish and Game. 



During 1954-1971, 15.540 billfish were tagged. Records show 9,849 striped marlin (Tetrapturus 

 audax), 4,821 sailfish (Isriophorus platypterus), 622 black marlin (\fakaira indica), and 248 blue marlin 

 (Makaira nigricans) were tagged during this period. Ninety-seven tag recoveries have been made; these 

 include 85 striped marlin, 10 sailfish, and 2 black marlin. Eighty-one percent of these recoveries were by 

 longline fishing vessels, the remainder by marine sport fishermen. 



The tag recovery rates were 0.88% for striped marlin, 0.32% for black marlin, and 0.24% for sailfish. 



Four types of tags were used in the two programs. Two types of metal tip dart tags were used by the 

 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; metal tipped single- and double-barbed plastic dart tags were 

 used by the National Marine Fisheries Service; and a single-barb plastic dart tag was used by the 

 California Department of Fish and Game. Tag types giving the best recovery rate for striped marlin and 

 sailfish were the plastic single- and double-barbed dart tags. 



Recovery data for striped marlin tagged in the eastern Pacific show a movement away from the tip of 

 Baja California in a south to southwest direction in late spring and early summer. Some recoveries were 

 made of fish tagged near the tip of Baja California and recaptured northwest of the tip of Baja California, 

 Mexico. The migration pattern to the south and southwest at this time of the year may be related to 

 spawning. Striped marlin tagged off southern California show a migration to the south in late summer 

 and early fall. Recoveries of striped marlin in the eastern Pacific were generally short-term (average of 89 

 days) and covered short distances, averaging 281 nautical miles. Only three of 85 tagged striped marlin, 

 and one of two tagged black marlin, were recovered 1,000 nautical miles or more from the site of tagging. 

 The few recoveries of tagged black marlin (2) and sailfish (10) did not provide sufficient data to determine 

 migration patterns for these species. 



The tagging or marking offish is an established 

 method in the study of fish growth, migration, dis- 

 tribution and population structure (Schaefer, Chat- 

 win, and Broadhead, 1961: Beckett, 1970). The 

 concept of utilizing the services of marine anglers in 

 the tagging of large marine game fishes, such as 

 tunas and billfishes, was developed by Frank J. 

 Mather III of the Woods Hole Oceanographic In- 

 stitution. Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The first 

 cooperative tagging of billfishes in the Pacific 



'NOAA. National Marine Fisheries Service. Southwest 

 Fisheries Center. La Jolla. CA 92037. 



Ocean was in 1954 when tagging equipment was 

 furnished by Mather to anglers fishing for billfishes 

 and tunas. Interest in the tagging and releasing of 

 billfishes in the Pacific increased and in 1961 ar- 

 rangements were made with Mather for the then 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Tiburon Marine 

 Laboratory to assume responsibility for the 

 cooperative Marine Game Fish Tagging Program in 

 the Pacific area. This program has recently been 

 transferred to the Department of Commerce, Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service. Southwest 

 Fisheries Center, La Jolla Laboratory, La Jolla, 

 California. The Pacific phase of the Cooperative 



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