Swordfish - Xiphias Gladius Geographic Location / Distribution Habitat: Swordfish Is an Oceanic Species, with a Wide Temperature Tolerance

SANBI IDentifyIt - Species Swordfish - Xiphias gladius Geographic location / distribution Habitat: Swordfish is an oceanic species, with a wide temperature tolerance. They are usually found in surface waters at temperatures of 13°C. They can dive up to 650m. Fishery In South Africa, swordfish are targeted by the Tuna/Swordfish Longline fishery. Size limits Southern bluefin tuna >6.4kg Bigeye tuna >3.2kg Yellowfin tuna >3.2kg Swordfish >119cm LJFL / >18kg dressed Marlins >210cm LJFL Bigeye tuna >3.2kg Yellowfin tuna >3.2kg Swordfish >119cm LJFL / >18kg dressed Marlins >210cm LJFL Stock status Atlantic: Healthy, although over-exploited in the North Atlantic Indian Ocean: Overfished Fisheries management Swordfish fall within the management of the large pelagic fishery, and are therefore managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. South Africa is a member of ICCAT and a co-operating non-member of IOTC and CCSBT. Although RFMO's manage high seas fisheries, management recommendations and resolutions are implemented by South Africa through national legislation and permit conditions. The Tuna/Swordfish fishery is managed by a Total Allowable Effort (TAE), meaning that instead of setting a limit on the catch, a limit is set on the number of rights holders allowed to catch tuna. Currently there is a limit of 200 rights holders in SA (including pole and longline). In addition to this effort limitation, ICCAT has allocated a TAC of 1200 tonnes for SA swordfish catches. Longlining is not a very selective form of fishing and many species are caught accidentally on the the hooks. Bycatch species in this fishery include: billfishes (swordfish, marlins etc), seabirds, turtles and sharks. Recent assessments show that eleven species of seabird, four species of turtle and 20 species of shark are caught incidentally by this fishery. The FAO estimates that approximately 28% of the catch is discarded. Local studies indicate that discards comprise approximately 22% of the catch. Bycatch restrictions therefore exist to protect vulnerable species like sharks: The bycatch of billfish cannot exceed 10% of the total tuna catch A precautionary catch limit of 25 seabirds has been set for tuna longline vessels, after which further management restrictions are enforced Shark fins need to be landed with their trunks, with the fins not exceeding 5% of the weight of the trunk on foreign vessels according to ICCAT and IOTC, but 8% on SA vessels. Any Bigeye, Swordfish or Southern Bluefin tuna landed must be accompanies by the relevant RFMO (ICCAT, IOTC or CCSBT) catch statistical document. Maturity and Sizes Swordfish mature at 3-5 years at a length (LJFL) of 150-160m. References FAO fact sheets http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2498/en Fishery Resource Monitoring System Fact Sheets: http://firms.fao.org/firms/resource/9/en ICCAT Tuna fact sheets. ICAT Manual. January 2010. FAO. © 2006-2010. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Biological characteristics of tuna/Individual species sheets. FI Institutional Websites. Text by Michel Goujon and Jacek Majkowski. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department[online]. Rome. Updated 24 February 2010. [Cited 30 November 2010]. Website: http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/16082/en

Photo: Chris Wilke

Photo: José Antonio Gil Martínez Photo: Derke Snodgrass, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC/SFD Landed trunk Photo: Nicola Okes