White Marlin are large, elongated fish with a large upper jaw that forms a spear which is round in cross-section. They are dark blue to chocolate-brown in color. Although generally considered to be a rare and solitary species relative to other similar fish, white marlin occur in small groups consisting of several individuals.

Ecology

Average size is 45 to 65 lbs (20–30 kg) roughly the size of an Indo-Pacific sailfish, with females reaching relatively larger sizes

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

. The White Marlin's preferred habitat is deep blue water

Photic zone

The photic zone or euphotic zone is the depth of the water in a lake or ocean that is exposed to sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur...

 over 100m (330 feet). The species usually migrates to high latitude

Latitude

In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

s in the warm season. They reproduce while in the subtropics

Subtropics

The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...

; spawning

Spawn (biology)

Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

 in early summer in deep, oceanic waters. Prey items include a variety of fish, crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s, and cephalopod

Cephalopod

A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...

s.

Conservation

In 2006, White marlin are mostly caught as bycatch

Bycatch

The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...

 in international longline fisheries. However, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) reports indicate that recent international management recommendations have started stabilizing the stock biomass.

In 2010, Greenpeace

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...

International has added the white marlin to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."

Additional information

Ocean City, Maryland is known as the White Marlin Capital of the World. The city hosts the annual White Marlin Open, a big game tournament which attracts anglers from all over the world and which frequently pays out over a million dollars to the winning team. The tournament encourages tag and release (non lethal) of the fish, although winning marlins are often brought back to the marina for verification of the size and weight. The 2010 White Marlin Open was held at Harbour Island Marina on 14th Street & the Bay.