Marlin: Striped

Pacific striped marlin, spearfish, striped swordfish, nairagi, A’u

Kajiki

Striped marlin are caught (primarily incidentally) throughout the Pacific Ocean in domestic and international troll, longline, and purse seine fisheries. Striped Marlin have a short life span and reach sexual maturity at an early age.

A recent stock assessment for striped marlin in the Pacific concludes that the stock is both overfished with overfishing occurring, making the status of this stock a critical conservation concern.

Marlin is caught with troll, handline, and pole and line gear, pelagic longlines, and purse seine gear. The level of bycatch varies according to the gear type. Purse seine sets on floating objects or fish aggregating devices (FADs) are deemed a high conservation concern due to the bycatch of juvenile tuna, other pelagic fishes, sharks, and sea turtles. The uncontrolled growth of the floating object fishery is cause for concern. Pelagic longlines also catch a number of incidental species, including endangered and threatened sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals.

In the international waters of the Pacific Ocean, management of striped marlin falls under the purview of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council in U.S. waters. As marlin are caught incidentally in the pelagic longline
fisheries targeting tunas and swordfish, management of these fisheries is used to evaluate the management of striped marlin. Overall, there is no management this species in the Pacific Ocean. The exception is in the Hawaii-based longline fleet, where bycatch mitigation efforts have been implemented, and the fishery is closed when sea turtle bycatch caps are reached.

Striped marlin has a moderate intrinsic rate of increase, and early age at maturity, and this species is also moderately long-lived. Overall, striped marlin is considered to be moderately vulnerable to fishing pressure due to a lower intrinsic rate of increase.

Despite these inherent life history characteristics, excessive fishing pressure and poor management have resulted in overfishing of marlin species.

Striped marlin stocks are considered overfished with overfishing occurring. Recruitment and Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) data have exhibited declining trends, however the precise extent of these declines are uncertain.

Overall, the stock status of striped marlin is a “critical” conservation concern.

In the absence of data demonstrating that bycatch rates are declining, a precautionary approach is taken in considering the severity of the bycatch problem in global longline fisheries. Even for those fisheries that demonstrate low or declining bycatch as a result of sufficient observer coverage and management measures, the bycatch of vulnerable species remains a high conservation concern.

Pelagic longline gear have moderate habitat effects, but the ecosystem effects of removing large predators such as blue marlin remains controversial.

Management of Hawaiian marlin fisheries is ranked as “moderately effective” because although management uses log books and onboard observers, and has initiated an effective bycatch reduction plan, it has not effectively maintained stock productivity and has no catch limits or quotas in place.

What kind of marlin is this?

If you choose to consume Marlin, only Blue Marlin from the Hawaiian fleet is ranked as “some concerns”. Blue marlin from areas other than Hawaii, and all Striped marlin should be avoided.

No.