A. Species
Scientific name: Makaira nigricans
Common name(s): Blue marlin
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Atlantic - northeast
Country/Region: Madeira (autonomous region of Portugal), vessels docked in Funchal (southern coast of Madeira) or based in the Calheta marina (southwest coast of Madeira)
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Individual Site
Name/Details of location: Madeira (2 ports) - fished in Atlantic Ocean
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2008
End Year: 2019
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Non-Extractive
Practice of use:
Lethal or non-lethal:
Does this use involve take/extraction of:
Purpose(s) of end use: Collection/display and Recreation
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Recreational
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and International external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Review of catch data on Madeira 2008-2019, from the billfishreport.com database.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: As well as collecting empirical data 2017-2019, the study reviews historic catch data for Madeira, and reports that Blue marlin captures registered from 2008 to 2019 showed considerable variability between years, with a high number of individuals being caught in the early years of the period, followed by a strong decrease and far fewer individuals being caught. Finally, in the last year, the numbers almost returned to those of the first year. With regard to the interannual fluctuation in blue marlin catches, the records show a high presence in 2008 and 2009, with the highest number (649) recorded in 2009. After that, there was a significant reduction, especially in 2011 and 2013, but from 2014 onwards a slight increase was observed, with 2019 reaching levels close to those of 2008. Data reviewed by the study were sourced from the the billfishreport.com database.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: high value sports-fishing (catch and release): As well as collecting empirical data 2017-2019, the study reviews historic catch data for Madeira, and reports that Blue marlin captures registered from 2008 to 2019 showed considerable variability between years, with a high number of individuals being caught in the early years of the period, followed by a strong decrease and far fewer individuals being caught. Finally, in the last year, the numbers almost returned to those of the first year. With regard to the interannual fluctuation in blue marlin catches, the records show a high presence in 2008 and 2009, with the highest number (649) recorded in 2009. After that, there was a significant reduction, especially in 2011 and 2013, but from 2014 onwards a slight increase was observed, with 2019 reaching levels close to those of 2008. Data reviewed by the study were sourced from the the billfishreport.com database.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: high value sports-fishing (catch and release): As well as collecting empirical data 2017-2019, the study reviews historic catch data for Madeira, and reports that Blue marlin captures registered from 2008 to 2019 showed considerable variability between years, with a high number of individuals being caught in the early years of the period, followed by a strong decrease and far fewer individuals being caught. Finally, in the last year, the numbers almost returned to those of the first year. With regard to the interannual fluctuation in blue marlin catches, the records show a high presence in 2008 and 2009, with the highest number (649) recorded in 2009. After that, there was a significant reduction, especially in 2011 and 2013, but from 2014 onwards a slight increase was observed, with 2019 reaching levels close to those of 2008. Data reviewed by the study were sourced from the the billfishreport.com database.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: this study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: this study does not record this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: in the last 11 years (2008–2019), a total of 67 blue marlins were landed, corresponding to 4.2% of the total captured. From 2008 to 2010, around 10 blue marlins were landed each year. Not many blue marlins died in the following years, except for in 2017 and 2019, in which 11 and 9 blue marlins, respectively, died and were landed.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study discusses the difficulties encountered in obtaining data from this fishery and the importance of consistently gathering data on catches over time. People practicing this fishing modality should be involved in these studies as stakeholders, collaborating with authorities and researchers in order to obtain accurate data. This would help in maintaining adequate records and monitoring how the fishery practice and target species evolve over time.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-14