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Highly
Migratory Species Branch
The Highly Migratory Species branch of the SEFSC manages Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) including
Management of HMS requires international cooperation and rebuilding programs must reflect traditional participation in the fisheries by U.S. fishermen, relative to foreign fleets. At SEFSC, we have two units to gather HMS data:
We actively addresses the research needs identified in the Atlantic Billfish Research Plan [pdf], in order to
- reduce the uncertainties of stock assessments
- improve the biological basis for management
- enhance the rebuilding of Atlantic billfish stocks
We participate in Atlantic billfish assessment activities conducted under the auspices of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Madrid, Spain. In addition, our staff coordinate the ICCAT Enhanced Research Program for billfish [pdf] in the Western Atlantic Ocean and act as tagging coordinators for the U.S. delegation to ICCAT.
Specific research programs include
- monitoring billfish tournament catch and effort
- assessing movement, migration and reproductive patterns
in terms of essential fish habitat
- assessing hook performance of certain gear (e.g. circle
hooks)
- conducting a variety of studies on the life history of
Atlantic billfish
Scientists maintain an Atlantic-wide constituent-based cooperative tagging program
(Cooperative Tagging Center), as well as conduct electronic tagging of billfish
using pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) technology. The Cooperative Tagging
Center works in collaboration with The Billfish
Foundation 
, through a memorandum of understanding, to
enhance billfish tagging efforts in the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere. You can adopt a billfish to
assist in tagging efforts.
Our research programs also seek to minimize billfish by-catch resulting from offshore longline fleets targeting tunas and swordfish. Our primary focus has been on Istiophorid billfish such as
- marlins
- sailfishes
- spearfishes
Our team has collaborated with other groups to conduct research on electronic tagging of
- Atlantic bluefin tuna
Contact
- Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Branch Chief: Dr. Craig Brown
More Information
Billfish Photo Gallery
Blue Marlin
Photo Credit: Guy Harvey
Video: Blue
Marlin Track 03P0115 [avi]
(Provo Transatlantic)
Video: Blue
Marlin Track 03P0284 [avi]
(San Juan to Mouth of Amazon River)
