Description: color cobalt
blue on top shading to silvery white on bottom; upper jaw elongated in
form of spear; dorsal fin pointed at front end; pectoral fin and anal fin
pointed; lateral line reticulated (interwoven like a net), difficult to
see in large specimens; no dark spots on dorsal fin; body covered with
embedded scales ending in one or two sharp points.
Similar Fish: white
marlin, Tetrapterus albidus (white has rounded tip of pectoral and
anal fins, and spots on the dorsal fin).
Where found: OFFSHORE, a
blue water fish.
Size: largest of the
Atlantic marlins, common to 11 feet, known to exceed 2,000 pounds.
*Florida Record: 980
lbs., 8 ozs.
Remarks: all of trophy
size are females; males do not exceed 300 pounds; make trans-Atlantic
migrations; spawning procedures unknown; feeds on squid and pelagic
fishes, including blackfin tuna and frigate mackerel.
* The Florida records
quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's
printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are
provided as only as a benchmark.
