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Misidentification of istiophorid billfishes by fisheries observers raises uncertainty over stock status

2018; Wiley; Volume: 93; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jfb.13738

1095-8649

Samuel M. Williams, Julian G. Pepperell, M. B. Bennett, Jennifer R. Ovenden,

Fish Ecology and Management Studies

We investigated whether commercially landed black marlin Istiompax indica were being misidentified by fisheries observers operating throughout the Pacific Ocean. Of 83 samples reported by observers as I. indica, 77% were genetically identified to be blue marlin Makaira nigricans and 2% to be striped marlin Kajikia audax. The high rate of misidentification by observers places considerable uncertainty over historic catch ratios of Indo-Pacific marlin and stock assessments relying on the validity of these data.