An American-based organisation, the National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC), carried out the research which showed that the number of blue marlin has decreased alarmingly to the point where the population will be too few to make a recovery.
The Atlantic blue marlin, or bill fish, can reach 14ft in length and weigh close to 2000lb. These, along with the white marlin, sailfish and swordfish, are being decimated by both sports fishermen and netsmen. The study found that the Atlantic blue marlin had been reduced to less than half the number needed to maintain a viable population. The fish were being caught four times faster than they could reproduce.
Ken Hinman of the NCMC said, “The research shows that these fish are rapidly disappearing from the world’s oceans. They evolved in an environment where they had few natural enemies and are not designed to withstand heavy fishing pressure,”
The white marlin is also an endangered species, having declined by 90% over the last 40 years. Jasper Carlton, executive director of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, said: “According to the best scientific and commercial data, these are the most critically imperilled species in the Atlantic Ocean. Unless dramatic action is taken, the white marlin will pass the point of no return.”
John Graves, professor of marine science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in America, believes that more than 95% of marlin and such fish are released by anglers. He, and other experts, believe that the real threat to marlin comes from the escalating longline fishing industry. Longliners set lines that can exceed 50 miles in length, each holding thousands of baited hooks.
