Table 4. — Percentage recovery rates for tag types used 

 by the California Department of Fish and Game 

 (CF&G). and National Marine Fisheries Service 

 (NMFS). fish tagged through 1971. 



Species Agency 



Type tag 



% recovery 



Striped marlin 



NMFS 



FM67 



1.06% 





NMFS 



FT-1 



0.42 





CF&G 



FT-1 



0.80 





NMFS 



H 



0.40 



Black marlin 



NMFS 



FM67 



0.32% 





NMFS 



H 



1.20 



Sailfish 



NMFS 



FM67 



0.30% 





NMFS 



FT-1 



0.60 





CF&G 



FT-1 



1.60 



>0.66% 



>0.86% 



be located in areas of greatest concentration and 

 maximum yield. 



January, February, March. — During this period 

 striped marlin are commonly taken by the sport- 

 fishery off Mazatlan, Mexico, and in lesser num- 

 bers off Cabo San Lucas, the southern tip of Baja 

 California Sur, Mexico. Sailfish are not common in 



the area about the mouth of the Gulf of California 

 during the winter and early spring. The longest dis- 

 tance recovery of a striped marlin was for a fish 

 tagged near the tip of Baja California Sur, Mexico, 

 and recovered 200 nautical miles southwest of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, a distance of 3,120 nautical miles 

 in a period of 3 mo (2/67-5/67). Recoveries of striped 

 marlin tagged off Mazatlan, Mexico, show a west to 

 southwest movement towards the tip of Baja 

 California Sur, and the Revillagigedo Islands, Mex- 

 ico, respectively. Recoveries of striped marlin tag- 

 ged about the tip of Baja California Sur, Mexico, 

 show some movement toward the northwest and 

 northeast; however the direction of the movement 

 as indicated by tag recoveries from this area is 

 south through southeast (reference, Fig. 2). 



April, May, June. — During late spring and early 

 summer the sportfishery striped marlin catch de- 

 creases off Mazatlan and increases about the tip of 

 Baja California Sur, Mexico. Sailfish becomes the 

 dominant species off Mazatlan during this season. 

 A pattern of striped marlin movement, indicated by 

 recoveries, is from about the tip of Baja California 

 southward toward Las Tres Marias and Revil- 

 lagigedo Islands, Mexico. Striped marlin tagged 



Figure 2.— Movements of billfishes from tagging conducted during the months of January. 

 February, and March. Striped marlin unless otherwise noted as SF (sailfish). 



231 



