black marlin

File:Black Marlin Artwork by Frank Olsen.jpg

Compared to striped or white marlins and sailfish, black marlins are more solid than their blue counterparts. They have a shorter, heavier bill and a rounder and lower dorsal fin. Black marlin may be distinguished from all other marlin species by their rigid pectoral fins, which, especially from a weight of around {{cvt|68|kg|lb}}, are unable to be pressed flat against their sides but can be tilted further backwards for reduced drag.{{Cite web |title=Marlin - Species Guide |url=https://www.blackmagictackle.com/species-guides/marlin#:~:text=Black%20marlin%20have%20one%20feature,drag%20when%20swimming%20at%20speed. |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.blackmagictackle.com |language=en}} The black marlin showcases an extremely chrome underside and a dark blue-black dorsal side, the two colored layers are often separated by a yellow-ish chrome stripe. The black marlin is the only istiophorid in which the second dorsal fin is anterior to the second anal fin, this feature holds for all sizes.{{Cite web |title=Black Marlin, Istiompax indica (Cuvier, 1832) |url=https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/black-marlin-makaira-indica-cuvier-1832/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=The Australian Museum |language=en}} Black marlin are measured like other bill fish from the tip of their lower jaw to the fork of their tail.{{Cite web |title=Measurement |url=https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/measurement/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission |language=en}} The black marlin is also the biggest marlin as well as one of the largest bony fishes in the world with females capable of reaching a mass of over 700 kg.{{Cite journal |last1=Domeier |first1=Michael L. |last2=Speare |first2=Peter |date=2012-02-21 |title=Dispersal of Adult Black Marlin (Istiompax indica) from a Great Barrier Reef Spawning Aggregation |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=e31629 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0031629 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3283654 |pmid=22363692|bibcode=2012PLoSO...731629D }} The maximum published length is {{Cvt|4.65|m|ftin}}, however the average growth was found to be approximately 6-9ft.{{cite web |title=Istiompax indica, Black marlin : fisheries, gamefish |url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/217 |website=www.fishbase.se}}{{cite book |last1=Flindt |first1=Rainer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9t7Tht1kf88C |title=Amazing Numbers in Biology |date=21 December 2006 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-540-30147-9 |pages=12 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Chi-Lu |last2=Chang |first2=Hsiao-Yun |last3=Liu |first3=Tsung-Yun |last4=Yeh |first4=Su-Zan |last5=Chang |first5=Yi-Jay |date=2015-06-01 |title=Reproductive biology of the black marlin, Istiompax indica, off southwestern and eastern Taiwan |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0165783614002732 |journal=Fisheries Research |series=Proceedings of the 5th International Billfish Symposium |volume=166 |pages=12–20 |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2014.09.006 |bibcode=2015FishR.166...12S |issn=0165-7836}} Females tend to be larger than males after about age 5, however before age 5 the females are smaller. The maximum weight is {{Cvt|750|kg|lb}}, possibly up to {{Cvt|900|kg|lb}}. Juveniles are similar in most features except their coloration is lighter, bills are shorter and they are physically smaller.

File:Marlin Types.jpg

There are 4 types of marlin and the most obvious distinguishing trait of black marlin is their large size and deep body depth, other marlin have a more slender body with less distance from back to stomach. The blue marlin looks very similar to the black marlin but the pectoral fins are angled more laterally whereas the black marlins fins face more ventrally; black marlins are also larger and do not have the faint light blue vertical stripes that are visible on blue marlins. The black marlin could be confused for striped marlin, however a distinct difference between the two are the highly prominent vertical white lines on the striped marlin which the black marlin lacks. White marlins also have defined white stripes that distinguish them from black marlins.

French naturalist Georges Cuvier described the black marlin in 1832 as Tetrapturus indicus. Diet mostly consists of various fish and cephalopods. They may eat tuna, mackerel, snake mackerel, flying fish, squid, crustaceans, octopus, etc, but mackerel scad have been found to be the preferred prey of black marlin.{{Cite journal |last1=Shimose |first1=Tamaki |last2=Yokawa |first2=Kotaro |last3=Saito |first3=Hirokazu |last4=Tachihara |first4=Katsunori |date=2008-02-01 |title=Seasonal occurrence and feeding habits of black marlin, Istiompax indica, around Yonaguni Island, southwestern Japan |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10228-007-0004-3 |journal=Ichthyological Research |language=en |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=90–94 |doi=10.1007/s10228-007-0004-3 |bibcode=2008IchtR..55...90S |issn=1616-3915}} Scientists have even found young sharks in the stomachs of some black marlin. When black marlin hunt prey they swallow the prey head first. Prey observed from the stomachs of black marlins often show slashes from the bill of the fish. {{Cite web |title=FAO species catalogue. Vol.5. Billfishes of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of marlins, sailfishes, spearfishes and swordfishes known to date |url=https://www.fao.org/4/ac480e/ac480e00.htm |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.fao.org}} Because of this, it is believed that these fish utilize their bills when hunting within a school of fish.

Black marlin spawn at different times depending on their location. Spawning around southern Asia has been observed in May and June, around Taiwan from March through April as well as from August to October, and around Australia between October and December.{{Cite journal |last1=Chiang |first1=Wei-Chuan |last2=Musyl |first2=Michael K. |last3=Sun |first3=Chi-Lu |last4=DiNardo |first4=Gerard |last5=Hung |first5=Hsiao-Min |last6=Lin |first6=Hsien-Chung |last7=Chen |first7=Shin-Chi |last8=Yeh |first8=Su-Zan |last9=Chen |first9=Wen-Yie |last10=Kuo |first10=Chin-Lau |date=2015-06-01 |title=Seasonal movements and diving behaviour of black marlin (Istiompax indica) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0165783614003178 |journal=Fisheries Research |series=Proceedings of the 5th International Billfish Symposium |volume=166 |pages=92–102 |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2014.10.023 |bibcode=2015FishR.166...92C |issn=0165-7836}} Spawning has also been noted from August to November around northern Australia. Black marlin are believed to prefer water temperatures around 27° to 28°C during spawning. Egg counts of ripe roe totaled about 40 million per female.

Black marlins spend more time closer to the surface than most other billfish, except for sailfish. Scientists found in one population of black marlin that at night the fish would spend up to 87% of their time at depths above 30 meters deep, but during the day less than 60% of their time was spent in the upper 30 meter depths of the sea.{{Cite journal |last1=Rohner |first1=Christoph A. |last2=Bealey |first2=Roy |last3=Fulanda |first3=Bernerd M. |last4=Everett |first4=Jason D. |last5=Richardson |first5=Anthony J. |last6=Pierce |first6=Simon J. |date=September 2021 |title=Movement ecology of black marlin Istiompax indica in the Western Indian Ocean |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |language=en |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=1044–1059 |doi=10.1111/jfb.14809 |issn=0022-1112 |pmc=8518400 |pmid=34050533|bibcode=2021JFBio..99.1044R }} Because of this, black marlin distribution is influenced by the surface height of the ocean throughout the time of year.{{Cite journal |last1=Farchadi |first1=Nima |last2=Hinton |first2=Michael G. |last3=Thompson |first3=Andrew R. |last4=Yin |first4=Zhi-Yong |date=2019-07-18 |title=Modeling the dynamic habitats of mobile pelagic predators (Makaira nigricans and Istiompax indica) in the eastern Pacific Ocean |url=https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v622/p157-176/ |journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series |language=en |volume=622 |pages=157–176 |doi=10.3354/meps12996 |bibcode=2019MEPS..622..157F |issn=0171-8630}} Black Marlin live in temperatures from 15 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. Juvenile black marlin around Australia utilize the great barrier reef lagoon as an area to grow and develop due to an abundance of resources. During the younger life stages, black marlin will form seasonal aggregations (aggregation: temporary assemblage of individuals)  throughout the great barrier reef lagoon.

Female black marlin are often larger than males after age 5, they have also been found to live longer than males. In Taiwan, data from studies have provided evidence from population samples that there is likely a larger female to male ratio.

The conservation status of the black marlin is unknown.{{Cite report |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/170312/46646193 |title=Istiompax indica: Collette, B.B., Di Natale, A., Fox, W., Juan Jorda, M., Pohlot, B., Schratwieser, J. & Graves, J.: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T170312A46646193 |date=2021-05-01 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-1.rlts.t170312a46646193.en |language=en}} Due to the migratory nature of these fish and a lack of research, the population size and health cannot be accurately stated. Research into black marlin runs into many complications regarding finding them consistently. One such problem is that they are particularly good at ditching their trackers.{{Cite journal |last1=Domeier |first1=Michael L. |last2=Speare |first2=Peter |date=2012-02-21 |title=Dispersal of Adult Black Marlin (Istiompax indica) from a Great Barrier Reef Spawning Aggregation |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=e31629 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0031629 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3283654 |pmid=22363692|bibcode=2012PLoSO...731629D }} The Billfish Conservation Act was passed in 2012 and has been amended as recently as 2018 outlawing the sale of billfish throughout the United States (except swordfish), this act does not outlaw fishing for such fish but only the sale. There are currently no fisheries for black marlin.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-27 |title=Billfish Conservation Act {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/laws-and-policies/billfish-conservation-act |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=NOAA |language=en}}

File:Black Marlin Distribution by IUCNredlist.png

The species occurs in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific approximately between 40 degrees North and 45 degrees South, with uncommon movements into temperate waters, and rare reports from the Atlantic. There has been no evidence to suggest that there is a breeding population in the Atlantic. They are found anywhere from surface level down to depths of approximately 500 meters. The relative abundance of black marlin is currently unknown. In Taiwan, data from studies have provided evidence from population samples that there is likely a larger female to male ratio.

File:Alfred Glassell's black marlin.jpg|left]]Black marlin are a very popular big game fish. They are commonly fished along the coasts of South America, Southern Asia, and Australia. Recreational angling is a large market throughout the world and the black marlin is a very sought after fish. In August 1953, while fishing off of Cabo Blanco, Peru, Alfred C. Glassell Jr. caught a black marlin weighing {{convert|1560|lb|kg}}, using a handheld {{convert|7|foot|m}} bamboo rod, a Fin-Nor reel and 130-pound-test linen line.{{cite news|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/world-record-marlin-a-symbol-of-glassell-s-legacy-5415512.php|title=World-record marlin a symbol of Glassell's legacy|first=Shannon|last=Tompkins|date=April 19, 2014|access-date=July 5, 2023|newspaper=Houston Chronicle}} As of 2023 this remained a record catch under International Game Fish Association rules.{{cite news|url=https://igfa.org/gilbert-keech-heavy-tackle-alfred-c-glassell-jr/|title=Alfred C. Glassell Jr.|publisher=The International Game Fishing Association|access-date=July 5, 2023}} The black marlin caught by Alfred C. Glassell Jr. is stuffed and can be viewed in the National History Museum in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web |title=Marlin |url=https://seahistory.org/sea-history-for-kids/marlin/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=National Maritime Historical Society |language=en-US}}

• Billfish in the Indian Ocean

{{Reflist}}

• Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand 1982) {{ISBN|0-00-216987-8}}

{{billfish}}

{{Non-Endemic Marine Fish of New Zealand}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q998315}}

Category:Fish described in 1832

Category:Fish of Hawaii

Category:Fish of Pakistan

Category:Istiophoridae

Category:Game fish

Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier

Category:Fish of Indonesia