Table 3. — Catch, effort, and catch-per-hour of billfishes 

 off South Pass. 1966-71. 



Table 4. — Catch, effort, and catch-per-hour of billfishes 

 off northwest Florida, 1971. 



Year 



1966 



1967 



1968 



1969 



1970 



1971 









Panama All Three 

















Port 



Pensacola 



Destin 



City 



Ports 



















Number caught 













Blue marlin 



57 



42 



72 



25 



19 



34 



Number caught 











White marlin 



151 



113 



95 



38 



22 



18 



Blue marlin 



17 



43 



5 



65 



Sailfish 



42 



46 



30 



12 



20 



21 



White marlin 



41 



195 



30 



266 



Total hours fished 



— 



2,339 



5.801 



4,139 



2.603 



3.217 



Sailfish 



18 



265 



14 



297 



Catch-per-hour 















Total hours fished 



1.834 



5,425 



631 



7,890 



Blue marlin 



— 



0.018 



0.012 



0.006 



0.007 



0.011 



Catch-per-hour 











White marlin 



— 



0.048 



0.016 



0.009 



0.008 



0.006 



Blue marlin 



0.009 



0.008 



0.008 



0.008 



Sailfish 



— 



0.020 



0.005 



0.003 



0.008 



0.007 



White marlin 

 Sailfish 



0.022 

 0.010 



0.036 

 0.049 



0.048 



l) 022 



0.034 



0.038 



(3,217 h) in 1971. Of the effort expended in north- 

 west Florida, boats from Destin accounted for 69% 

 of the total. 



Blue marlin were more abundant off South Pass 

 than off northwest Florida in 1971. as indicated by 

 the catch-per-hour (0.011 versus 0.008). whereas 

 white marlin (0.034 versus 0.006) and sailfish (0.038 

 versus 0.007) were more abundant off northwest 

 Florida (Tables 3 and 4). 



When raises-per-hour were compared (Table 5). 

 the same conclusions of relative abundance were 

 reached. The reciprocals of raises-per-hour, that is, 

 hours-to-raise-1-fish. are also presented in Table 5. 

 Fewer hours were spent trolling off South Pass to 

 raise a blue marlin (15.9 versus 27.0). whereas 

 fewer hours were spent off northwest Florida for 

 white marlin (11.6 versus 19.2) and for sailfish (9.8 

 versus 62.5). 



SIZE AND SEX RATIO 



The range of w eights and the average weights for 

 each species for the two areas are presented in Ta- 

 bles 6 and 7. The largest blue marlin, 492.0 lb (223.6 

 kg), caught in 1971 was off South Pass; the largest 

 white marlin. 86.0 lb (39.1 kg), and the largest sail- 

 fish, 67.0 lb (30.5 kg), were caught off northwest 

 Florida by boats from Destin. For South Pass, the 

 range and average for blue marlin was not unusual; 

 neither was the average for sailfish. However, the 

 largest specimens of white marlin. 84.0 lb (38.2 kg), 

 and of sailfish. 58.5 lb (26.6 kg), were smaller than 

 the largest specimens of each species caught in any 

 previous year of record. And the average weight of 

 white marlin. 61.3 lb (27.9 kg), in 1971 was the high- 

 est ever. 



Females of all three species of billfishes domi- 

 nated the catches. Sex ratios for the years 1967-71 



for South Pass and for 1971 for northwest Florida 

 are presented in Table 8. Only those specimens 

 were examined for which permission was granted. 



The predominance of females in the blue marlin 

 caught off northeastern Gulf of Mexico is contrary 

 to that in blue marlin caught off Puerto Rico and the 

 Virgin Islands (Erdman, 1962. 1968). There, an 

 equal male-female ratio was found during July and 

 August, the months of spawning. In September, the 

 ratio changed to 4.5:1 in favor of males. The annual 

 average for catches of blue marlin from 1950-66 was 

 4:1 in favor of males. 



Sex ratios of white marlin caught off New Jersey 

 and Maryland, like those caught in the northeastern 

 Gulf of Mexico, also favored females. In 1959, the 

 male-female ratio was 1:2.4; in 1960, it was 1:1.2 (de 

 Sylva and Davis, 1963). 



RELATIVE ABUNDANCE BY TIME 



The number of raises per hour was determined 

 for weekly periods and hourly periods. Each week 

 began on a Wednesday and ended on the follow ing 



Table 5. — Relative abundance of billfishes in the north- 

 eastern Gulf of Mexico, 1971. 







Northwest 



Area 



South Pass 



Florida 



Raises-per-hour 







Blue marlin 



0.063 



0.037 



White marlin 



0.052 



0.086 



Sailfish 



0.016 



0.102 



Hours-to-raise-1-fish 







Blue marlin 



15.9 



27.0 



White marlin 



19.2 



11.6 



Sailfish 



62.5 



9.8 



