Marlin

For other uses, see Marlin (disambiguation).

Marlins
File:Marlin.png
Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Istiophoridae
Genera
Istiophorus Makaira Tetrapturus See text for species.

Marlin in Alexandr Petrov's animated film The Old Man and the Sea (1999) (Academy Award for Animated Short Film)

The marlin is a large game fish. It has an elongated body up to 2.5 m long, a spearlike snout, and a long rigid dorsal fin which extends forwards to form a crest. Marlin are fast swimmers, occurring in all seas and hunting small and large fish.

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which have been reliably recorded in excess of 5.0 m in length and 1,800 lb (820 kg) in weight, and black marlin, Makaira indica, which have been reliably recorded in excess of 5.0 m in length and 1,470 lb (670 kg) in weight. Marlins are very fast and can swim 100m in about 4 seconds. They are popular sporting fishes in certain tropical areas and are also commercially important as a food fish.

A marlin is a primary character in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.

Marlin are rarely table fare. Most modern sport fisherman release marlin after unhooking. Some marlin that are top record setting fish are taken and weighed on shore. Those records are most often recorded in the IGFA World Record Game Fishes books.

Species

There are eleven species in three genera:

• Genus Istiophorus
  • Atlantic sailfish, Istiophorus albicans.
  • Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus.
• Genus Makaira
  • Black marlin, Makaira indica.
  • Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Makaira mazara.
  • Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans.
• Genus Tetrapturus
  • Atlantic white marlin, Tetrapturus albidus.
  • Shortbill spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris.
  • Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax.
  • Mediterranean spearfish, Tetrapturus belone'.
  • Roundscale spearfish, Tetrapturus georgii.
  • Longbill spearfish, Tetrapturus pfluegeri.

Trivia

• The Florida Marlins major league baseball team is named after the marlin, and their mascot is named Billy the Marlin.

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Istiophoridae" in FishBase. November 2005 version.
• Clover, Charles. 2004. The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat. Ebury Press, London. ISBN 0-09-189780-7

External links

• International Game Fish Assosiation
• The Tuna Club - oldest sport fishing organization
• News article: Marlin spears fisherman as it leaps across boat