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Best Fish Guide: Striped Marlin

  Ranking: E (Red - Worst Choice)
 

Alternative Choice:    Albacore or Skipjack tuna

Description: Striped marlin is a highly migratory species (HMS) of broadbill fish and an important oceanic predator. The management responsibility for this species, as with other Western Pacific HMS, lies with an international body – the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries commission (WCPFC). However, the Ministry of Fisheries is responsible for upholding WCPFC rules in New Zealand waters. Between 1987 and 1991 there was a moratorium on landing any broadbill species (marlin and swordfish) in the area between Mokau and East Cape (Auckland Fisheries Management Area) due to concerns about depleted stocks.  In 1991, the moratorium was replaced with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between recreational and commercial fishers, to allow for the commercial take of swordbill.   Since 1995, there is a requirement to report all catches of billfish. The MOU was last singed in 1996.  As a result of the agreement on billfish, striped marlin is principally a recreational only fish (about 65% tagged and released to aid research), with any commercial captures the result of accidental capture in the tuna surface longline fishery in northern waters.  

Ecological concerns: Uncertainty about the stock assessment plus the state of the stocks and catch limits. Commercial captures of marlin are associated with the bycatch of sharks, seabirds and fur seals. One of the key concerns is the ecological impacts of removing this key predator species from oceanic food webs.

Economic value: Marlin is sold in East Asia.  Billfish catch by recreational fishers was estimated to be valued at $65m in 2002 (there are no more recent estimates).

ASSESSMENT OUTPUT

Biology and risk of overfishing  (score C)
Status and sustainability of fish catches  (score D)
Impact of fishing method and protected, threatened and endangered species captures  (score D and E)
Management and management unit  (score D and D)