the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Off Taiwan, black 

 marlin are taken along the east coast by the longline 

 and harpoon fisheries. This species is caught year- 

 round; however, best catches are made from Oc- 

 tober to April. Black marlin are reported to spawn 

 in the offshore waters of Taiwan from August to 

 October. It is one of the largest of the marlins 

 caught in Taiwan. The species is also considered a 

 good food fish in Taiwan. 

 5. Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus. 



In Chinese the sailfish is called "Yii San ChM 

 Yii"; also called "Ho Soan Ki Hi" or "Pua Ho 

 Soan-a" by local fishermen. Sailfish enter the 

 Taiwan inshore waters more often than any other 

 species of billfish. In Taiwan sailfish are caught 

 year-round along the entire coast of the island by 

 longline, harpoon, and other fishing gear. From 



April to July and from October to December, the 

 fishermen catch large numbers of sailfish in the 

 Bashi Channel located near southern Taiwan. Dur- 

 ing the fishing season, sailfish often occur in 

 schools in the Kuroshio Current. 



Sailfish have been observed to swim with their 

 high dorsal fins exposed and chasing sardine, squid, 

 or other smaller prey. Fishermen find it fairly easy 

 to harpoon sailfish; however, once harpooned the 

 sailfish will leap and twist in an effort to shake 

 loose. 



Adult sailfish with mature gonads have been re- 

 ported by fishermen in southern Taiwan waters 

 from April through August. This species grows to 2 

 m in length and 60 kg in weight. In comparison with 

 other species, sailfish are not considered a good 

 food fish by the Chinese people. 



Table 3. — Annual landings (in metric tons) of billfish by Taiwan deep-sea longliners by 



ocean, 1967-1971. 











Striped 



Blue 



Black 





Other 



Year 



Area 



Total 



Sword fish 



marlin 



marlin 



marlin 



Sailfish 



marlin 













{metric tons) 







1967 



Pacific 



935 



126 



63 



346 



50 



94 



256 





Indian 



2,047 



275 



665 



704 



236 



134 



33 





Atlantic 

 Subtotal 



716 

 3.698 



177 

 578 



155 

 883 



227 



1.277 



28 



121 



8 





314 



349 



297 



1968 



Pacific 



854 



65 



119 



594 



54 



22 







Indian 



3,622 



616 



783 



1,065 



616 



542 



— 





Atlantic 



1.887 



494 



206 



506 



10 



671 



— 





Subtotal 



6.363 



1.175 



1.108 



2.165 



680 



1,235 



— 



1969 



Pacific 



1,180 



108 



134 



565 



191 



71 



Ill 





Indian 



4,384 



801 



1,373 



1,258 



572 



190 



190 





Atlantic 



3.127 



883 



478 



846 



258 



478 



184 





Subtotal 



8.691 



1.792 



1 .985 



2,669 



1.021 



739 



485 



1970 



Pacific 



1,621 



188 



269 



646 



143 



127 



248 





Indian 



3.920 



641 



1.140 



997 



499 



213 



430 





Atlantic 



2.519 



630 



429 



687 



143 



458 



172 





Subtotal 



8.060 



1 .459 



1.838 



2.330 



785 



798 



850 



1971 



Pacific 



1.695 



247 



230 



690 



300 



71 



157 





Indian 



4,614 



580 



598 



1.144 



687 



283 



1.322 





Atlantic 



2.451 



721 



383 



492 



174 



301 



380 





Subtotal 



8.760 



1.548 



1.211 



2.326 



1.161 



655 



1,859 





Total 



35,572 



6,552 



7,025 



10.767 



3,961 



3.776 



3,491 



334 



