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SWORDFISH, MARLIN and SAILFISH

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SWORDFISH, MARLIN and SAILFISH DEPARTMENT OF ICHTHYOLOGY Rhodes University, Grahamstown ICHTHYOLOGICAL BULLETIN No. 2 ISSUED APRIL, 1956. SWORDFISH, MARLIN and SAILFISH IN SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA By Professor J. L. B. SMITH S.A. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Fellow in Ichthyology. (Published by the Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.) H. J. SOLE, GRAHAMSTOWN. PLATE 1. A.—125 lb. Marlin, (Makaira herschelii) Durban, December 1954. B.—115 1b. Marlin. (Makaira herschelii) Algoa Bay, January 1956. C.—42 1b. Marlin, (Makaira herschelii) Durban. March 1956. D.—45 1b. Marlin, (Makaira herschelii) Durban, March 1956. E.—45 1b. Marlin (Makaira herschelii) Durban, March 1956. F.—Marlin, (Makaira herschelii) East London, 121" total length. G.—Marlina audax, Mossel Bay, 108", February 1956. H.—168 1b. Marlin, Mauritius, February 1956. (Type of jauffreti n. sp.). I.—Orthocraeros bermudae, type, 121". (After Mowbray). J.—Sailfish, Durban, 85 lbs. K.—Skull of 10 ft. Black Marlin. (Makaira herschelii) Port Alfred. L.—Beak of fish, Figure B. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The main funds for this work were provided by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, who also made a special grant in February 1956 to cover considerable travelling that numerous Marlin catches rendered necessary. We acknowledge with thanks assistance and information furnished by Messrs. Eric von Puttkamer and A. R. Thorpe of Durban; Messrs. W. Basson, C. P. Horne, S. Newman, E. M. Taylor, the “Cape Times” and “ Die Burger” of Cape Town; Messrs. W. J. Beckmann and A. Moller of Mossel Bay; Miss M. Courtenay-Latimer of East London; Messrs. A. E. Dore, H. G. Phelps, J. Low Ah Kee and the staff of the “ Eastern Province Herald,” of Port Elizabeth. To the Union Castle Company and to Messrs. Irvin & Johnson we are indebted for valuable assistance. For many of the illustrations I am indebted to Margaret M. Smith. Swordfish, Marlin and Sailfish in South and East Africa ( with Plates 1 & 2 ) by Professor J. L. B. Smith, S.A. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Fellow in Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. CHIEFLY arising from their sporting potentialities in big game angling, the large “Bill-fishes”, or Marlin, and Sword-fishes have attracted considerable attention in recent times. Commercial fishermen of Japan and anglers of the United States have been most ardent in the pursuit of these peculiar creatures. While a good deal has been learnt about them, there still remains much to discover. In the case of the Marlins, for example, hardly anything is known of their reproduction, of the larval or postlarval early forms, and even those who have studied these fishes from ample material over a wide area are as yet uncertain of the absolute identity of the species, and are often unable to identify with any certainty the rare occasional reasonably small specimens that are encountered. In South Africa shore angling is so good throughout virtually the entire year that there has been little incentive to explore the possibilities further out, especially as quiet seas are a rare condition. Quite recently, however, big game angling at sea has developed almost explosively and increasingly large fishes are being captured. During our extensive travels in the tropical Western Indian Ocean it became obvious that great numbers of the larger angling fishes were present, including those treated here. Although that area is windy and storm-lashed for much of the year, remote from facilities, and barren, its potentialities are relatively unexplored, but are clearly so great that it will not be long before it becomes recognised as one of the chief big game angling areas of the world. These fishes are at present placed in the families Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae. The latter embraces the Sailfishes, the Marlins and the Spearfishes, usually granted distinction by only generic rank. In my opinion, however, they merit at least sub-family rank, as is given here. A. No pelvics. One keel on caudal. No scales on adult. Bill flattened.............. X IP H IID A E Genus Xiphias, Swordfish. B. Pelvics present. Bill rod-like. Two keels each side of caudal. Adult scaled. ISTIOPHORIDAE 1. Tip of lower jaw about twice as far from eye as from tip of upper jaw. Pectorals at most l¼ times postorbital. Front lobe of first dorsal not m uch higher than rest of fin................................................................................... Tetrapturinae 2. Tip of lower jaw little if at all further from eye than tip of lower jaw, usually nearer eye. Pectoral in adult at least 1½ times postorbital. Front lobe of dorsal in adults at least twice as high as mid and posterior rays; or, fin greatly elevated without front lobe. (a) Area of first dorsal fin much less than that of body below ................. Makairinae (b) F irst dorsal sail-like, its area g reater than th at of body below .......... Istiophorinae FAMILY XIPHIIDAE Genus Xiphias Linn, 1758. Swordfish. A single widespread species, attaining a considerable size. Little has been known of its occurrence in Southern African waters. We have in this Department a broken “Sword”, 3 ft. in length and 4 inches across the base, found on the shore near East London. A few years ago a large Swordfish was washed ashore some miles east of Algoa Bay. By the time it was reported to me, natives had hacked it badly and removed most of the flesh, but the person who examined it at my request stated that it was about 14 ft. overall in length, the sword being broken. In 1949 I found the dried remains of a Swordfish estimated at about 12 ft. overall in length, partly buried in the sand near Ponte Abril, a few miles south of Inhaca Island, Delagoa Bay. In 1948 a Durban angler told me, shortly after the event, that while fishing about a mile from shore, a Scomberomorus commerson Lacepede, about 4 ft. long, leapt from the water close to his boat, followed almost instantly by a large “Swordfish”, which overtook the smaller fish in the air and cut it clean in two with a sideway slash of the sword. The two halves fell into the water and the Swordfish swirled back to seize the tail part in clear sight, leaving the other, which the angler retrieved. It may be accepted that Xiphias is not uncommon in South African seas. I have as yet had evidence of its occurrence further north only from native fishermen of Mozambique. FAMILY ISTIOPHORIDAE Sub-family Tetrapturinae Genus Tetrapturus Rafinesque, 1810. Spearfishes. The spear short, not much longer than lower jaw. Apparently only two species, both rare; T. belone 25 Rafinesque, 1910, the genotype, has been reported in the northeastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Western Atlantic about Florida. T. angustirostris Tanaka, 1914 has been reported from Japan and Hawaii. I have had no evidence of the occurrence of a species of Tetrapturus, as here defined, in the seas of South Africa or anywhere in the Western Indian Ocean, but expect that one may well occur there. Sub-family Makairinae The Marlins. The Marlins are generally placed in the single genus Makaira Lacepede, 1803 but the characters of the main lines of cleavage justify full generic distinction, as is adopted here. A. Lateral line obscure. Lobe of dorsal apically acute. Size large, maximum far exceeding 200 lbs. 1. Dorsal fin not twice postorbital part of head. Depth of body less than one-fourth of standard length. (a) Anal fin inserted almost exactly midway between origin of upper caudal lobe and hind margin of head, or slightly more anterior. Dorsal fin never more than body depth, and at most barely longer than the distance between the origins of the second dorsal and the upper caudal lobe, usually less....................................................................... Makaira (b) Anal fin inserted distinctly nearer origin of upper caudal lobe than hind margin of head. Dorsal fin never less than body depth, and always clearly longer than the distance between the origins of the second dorsal and the upper caudal lobe. Second anal always in advance of second dorsal................................................................................. Marlina 2. Dorsal fin more than twice postorbital part of head. Depth of body (stated to be) 4 in length......................................................................................... Orthocraeros nov. B. Lateral line distinct. Lobe of dorsal apically rounded. Size not exceeding 200 lbs., Atlantic only..................................... ................................................................ Lamontella nov. Genus Makaira Lacepede, 1803. Genotype generally stated as Makaira nigricans Lacepede, (Hist. Nat. Poiss. 1803. IV, p.689, PI.13, fig. 3) based on a fish 330 cm. in length, weight 365 kgm., i.e. 803 lbs., washed ashore at La Rochelle, France. In their obvious inaccuracy both description and figure are typical, but the quoted length (330 cm.) and the statement that the lower jaw was not half as long as the upper, make it unlikely that the fish was a Tetrapturus, as the peculiar illustration (loc. cit above) might indicate. As LaMonte 1955 has indicated, there are grounds for accepting Lacepede’s genus Makaira, even though the species is not yet identifiable. Only the Blue Marlin, generally known as ampla Poey, has so far been recorded from French waters. Lacepede’s fish is not beyond the reputed weight limit for the “Blue” Marlin, though that weight, 365 kgms. (800 lbs.) is double the recorded average for an “ampla” of 330 cm. total length. It is possible that Lacepede’s correspondent wrote “Kilogrammes” instead of “Livres” (1.1 lb.), which would bring the fish into the “ampla” class. LaMonte 1955 possibly did not realise the full implication of this weight-length relationship, although she stated: “As far as length-weight proportions go, M. nigricans Lacepede, appears to agree most closely with the Pacific species M. mazara, but M. nigricans was an Atlantic fish.” Most American workers appear to believe that the Pacific mazara (Black) is a “heavier-bodied” fish than the Atlantic ampla (Blue), but that view is not supported by available data (see fig.
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