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75thAnniversarySilverSailfshDerby18In1998theStuartSailfishClubofFloridaheldits44thAnnualLightTackleTournamentinDecemberwith45boatsparticipating.Atitsconclusionanglershadcaughtandreleased539sailsontrolleddeadbaitsforanaveragecatchrateCPUEof3.0sailsboat-dayalmostthreetimesthehistoricalaverage.Justeightyearslaterin2006thevenerableWestPalmBeachFishingClubWPBFCpulledoffarealshockerDur-ingits69thannualSilverSailfishDerbythelongestrunningbillfishtournamentintheworldanglersusinglivebaitscapturedandreleasedanunprecedented958sailfishinjustthreedaysJanuary567aboard50participatingboats.CPUEanotherrecordwasapproximately6.4sailsboat-dayandfivetimesthehistoricalaverage.Theseresultsarenottypicalbutdemonstratehowsuccessfulfishingcanstillbe.Thisdoesnx19tsoundlikewhatshouldbehappeninggiventhechangeswehavewitnessedwithotherbillfishspeciesandwithbluefintuna.WhyhasthishappenedforsailfishWillitcontinueWhatcanwedotoinsuresuchgoodfishingresultsinthefutureTolookatthissubjectmorecloselyIcontactedsomeofthebestinformedpeopleinmarinescienceoceanographyandconservationx13thosewhohavetheirx1cfingersonthepulsex1dofwhatx19shappening.ResearchersattheNationalMarineFisheriesServiceNMFSandtheVirginiaInstituteofMarineScienceVIMSandprincipalsattheNationalCoalitionforMarineConservationNCMCandTheBillfishFoundationTBFwerealleagertohelp.Dr.EricPrinceNMFSx19sbillfishexpertattheSoutheasternFisheriesLabinMiamialongwithEllenPeelPresidentofTBFandDr.JohnGravesatVIMSallagreedthatthewesternNorthAtlanticsailfishstockwasdoingbetterthantheeasternstockoffWestAfrica.Theysuggestedthiswasaparticularlypropitioustimetoagainbeevaluatingtherobustnessofsailfishbecausethemostrecentstockassessmentshadjustbeenfinished.KenHinmanPresidentofNCMCwasgra-ciousinforwardingthedocumentover100pagespreparedbytheInternationalCommissionfortheConservationofAtlanticTunasICCATthatisalsosupposedtomanagebillfish.Kenx19simmediateresponsewasthatreducedU.S.longliningandclosedareasmightbeprovidingthewesternsailfishstocksufficientrespite.Alothashappenedsincethe1970-80periodwhenIwasdeeplyengagedinsailfishresearch.BythenmycolleagueEdIrbyandIhadconcludedthatthebiolog-icalstatusofwesternNorthAtlanticsailfishremainedhealthySaltwaterSportsmanDec.1980.Availablescientificevidencesupportedourconclusion.AtthattimeJapanesecommerciallonglineCPUEinthewesternNorthAtlantichadnotchangedsignificantlyduring1962-78.Onaveragetheywerelandingonlyabout9000sailfishannuallyfrom4000000squaremilesofthewesternNorthAtlanticwhilerecreationalfishermenwerecatchingandoftenreleasingsixtoeighttimesthatamountofsailfish.Recreationaltournamentsandcaptainsx19logsthroughoutawidegeographicalareaexaminedfor1935-77revealedCPUEvariedsig-nificantlyonanannualbasisbutshowednoevidenceofsustaineddeclineseegraphbelow.TheaverageCPUEforwintertournamentsalongmuchofFloridax19ssoutheastcoastwascalculatedtobeabout1.3sailfishboat-trip.CatchratesintheFloridaKeyswereabouthalfthatandintheGulfofMexicolowerstill.AswecametoknowthewinterfisheryinsoutheastFloridabetterovertheyearswerealizedanddocumentedthatweatherfrontalactivitywasoneofthemostimportantfactorsindetermininglocalavailabilityandthussuccessfulsailfishing.Biologicaldataonsizeagecompositionofthepopulationwasdecidedlysteadyduring1956-79.AllthisevidenceattestedtoarelativelyhealthystockinthewesternNorthAtlanticby1980.Sincethenmuchhashappened.Increas-ingfishingpressuresbothrecreationalandcommercialhaveensued.OthercountriesenteredtheNorthAtlanticandbeganlonglining.Bothillegalfishingandthedevelopmentofartisanalfisher-iesthroughouttheCaribbeancomplicateassessmentsaccordingtoEllenPeel.Todatethesemultipleimpactshavenotbeenquantified.ThepreviousstockassessmentbyICCATtookplacein2001.Resultssuggestedoverfishingmightbeoccurringforsailfishandevenmoresoforthemarlins.Theseconclusionswerebasedonlessrobustinformationthanusedinthe2009assessments.HoweverinbothcasesconclusionssuggestthatthewesternstockofsailfishisfullyexploitedorslightlyoverfishedwhileconditionoftheeasternstockoffAfricaismorepessimistic.ThesedataandICCATx19scomplexcalculationsremainhypotheticalandsubjecttovariousinterpreta-tions.Neverthelessthisjudgmentrepresentsthex1cbestavailableevidencex1dofthecurrentstocksx19conditions.Allmycontactsagreed.Themoredepressedconditionoftheeasternstockisworrisome.OfparticularconcernaccordingtoDr.Princeandhiscolleaguesistheinfluenceofx1chypoxia-basedhabitatcompression.x1dThisisatechnicalscientificdescriptionofwhatrestrictstropicalpelagicfishesverticaldistributioninthewatercolumn.Itmeansthatlowerdissolvedoxygenlevelsinthewateratdepthsforcefishofvari-LongtermcatchstatisticsfromtheSilverSailshDerby.GraphpreparedbyJohnJolleyEdIrbyforpresentationtotheAmericanFisheriesSocietyin1979.75thAnniversarySilverSailfshDerby18-continuedfrompreviouspage-