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Abstract--Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) of the western Atlantic Ocean are often incidentally caught in the pelagic longline fishery that targets swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the [...]

Abstract--Procedures for sampling genomic DNA from live billfishes involve manual restraint and tissue excision that can be difficult to carry (mr and may produce stresses that affect fish survival. We [...]

Abstract--We examined 536 permit (Trachinotus falcatus, 65-916 mm FL) collected from the waters of Florida Keys and from the Tampa Bay area on Florida's Gulf coast to describe their growth [...]

The vertical movement patterns of eight Swordfish Xiphias gladius from 109- to 249-cm lower jaw fork length in the western North Atlantic were studied utilizing pop-up archival transmitting tags. Deployments ranged from 120 to 151 d. Swordfish demonstrated significant differences in depth and temperature distributions between daytime and nighttime periods. Individual Swordfish behavior was characterized by occupying surface waters of less than 100 m during the night and depths greater than 400 m during daytime hours, vertical movements between the surface and depth occurring during crepuscular hours. The maximum depth recorded was 1,448 m (one of the deepest recorded depths for the species). Daytime surfacing behavior was seen in all tagged Swordfish, a rare finding for Swordfish in tropical latitudes. A dominant diurnal period of 1 cycle/d was found from a power spectral density analysis of five of the tagged Swordfish, a novel method for determining periodicity in the behavior of tagged animals. Regression analysis indicated a significant positive relationship between depth and fraction of the moon illuminated, supporting anecdotal and vessel logbook information from local Swordfish fisheries indicating changes in depth in relation to lunar phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the habitat utilization and movement patterns of the longbill spearfish Tetrapturus Pfluegeri Robins and de Sylva, found in the Eastern Tropical South Atlantic Ocean. The study used the pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) to monitor the movement and habitat utilization of two long bill species near Ascencion Island in the South Atlantic. The study reveals that minimum-maximum depth ranges and interpolated ambient isotherms were generated for each fish.

The article presents a study on the use of pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) technology in determining the vertical movement rate of billfishes. It notes that the investigators deployed and recovered intact PSAT's from two blue marlin, two white marlin and two sailfish. The rates of vertical movements was then determined from the recovered PSAT's. The result showed that the total number of descent events were smaller. The highest frequencies occurred within the 5-20 meter range. The investigators further revealed in their analysis that the higher movement rates of the billfish reflect burst swimming events.

The article examines young-of-year bonefish sampling data and specimens collected during the 1990s as part of juvenile fish monitoring conducted by the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. It is stated that beach seine sampling was conducted within 39 months between July 1994 and July 1998 at seven sites in the Florida Keys. The objectives of the study were to assess the seasonality of leptocephalous and juvenile catches with a temporally more extensive dataset, estimate juvenile bonefish growth rates from length-frequency data, and explore juvenile bonefish feeding habits via gut content analysis.

The article focuses on the use of appropriate methodologies and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for non-lethal sex identification in billfish tagging studies where gender is typically unknown. ELISA was developed to quantify vitellogenin-derived yolk proteins in muscle tissue biopsy samples from Atlantic blue marlin.

The article focuses on the transboundary movement of sailfish Istiophorus platypterus off the Pacific coast of Central America. The sailfish is one of the most important caught istiophods along the Pacific Coast of Central America. Tagging of the sailfish using pop-up satellite was made to determine their movement.

The article focuses on the spawning evidence of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) in Bermuda waters and elevated mercury levels in large specimens. The gonads of 11 adult female blue marlin were evaluated histologically for reproductive status. 70 percent of the females caught in July were actively spawning.