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Blue Marlin

The Blue Marlin is a large, powerful fish which is one of the top big game animals in in the world. These massive fish are abundant in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans due to their warm waters. Their numbers are greater along the central and western waters of the oceans. Along the eastern coasts of both oceans though, they are more scarce. They can also be found in the Indian Ocean, around the eastern coast of Africa and around Sri Lanka.

The Blue Marlin grows to incredible sizes and are the largest fish in the ocean, minus a few of the larger species. Blue Marlins can grow to weigh upwards of 1000 pounds. The largest recorded Blue Marlin to ever be caught measured in at 2200 pounds. All of these gigantic fish that are brought in and weigh 1000+ pounds are all female, because male Blue Marlins rarely exceed 300 pounds. Most Blue Marlin caught weigh between 150 and 400 pounds, which is still quite a big fish. It is believed that Blue Marlin can live for 15 years or more, but I could not find any information to support that theory. All I found was a fact which seemed to be against the theory of Blue Marlin living for more than 15 years. It said that is is uncommon to find fish that live for more than 10 years.

Little is known about the history of the Blue Marlin. Nobody is really even sure how far these fish travel and just how far they are able to go, which I guess kind of hints that these fish can swim for very long periods at a time, but that would not surprise me after looking at one. They are commonly seen in deep, warm, offshore environments, or where there are some sort of underwater structures like ridges or canyons. They can also be found in areas where the current takes large schools of smaller fish that the Blue Marlin can feed upon. These titantic fish tend to travel alone, and I guess we can be thankful for that. If there were schools of these massive beasts, I bet they'd be the Locusts of the Ocean.

Blue Marlin feed on many animals smaller than themselves, like schools of small fish, mackerel, or squid. They also feed on larger species like tuna (!) and even dolphins (!!!). Since these large fish require a lot of food, they tend to eat just about whatever they can get their hands (or fins) on. Their biggest problem though is availability over selectivity. In areas where food is low, the Blue Marlin appear scarce, but where food is abundant they are easier to encounter. Blue Marlins are so large that fisherman have to attract them with bonito and dolphins as bait before they can catch them.



Bibliography

Field and Stream
http://www.fieldandstream.com

Blue Marlin Chronicles
www.bluemarlinchronicles.com/