Mahi-mahi are swift and acrobatic game fish with striking colours. These colours darken when the fish dies (see illustrations) [1] The current IGFA all tackle record is 39.91 kilograms (88lb), caught in 1998 in Exuma, Bahamas by Chris Johnson of Lake Mary, Florida. [2] Catches average 7 to 13 kilograms (15 to 29 lb), and any mahi-mahi over 18 kilograms (40 lb) is exceptional. Males are often larger than females.
Mahi mahi are also known as dorado or dolphin fish.
Mahi-mahi are a blue-water, open ocean, highly migratory schooling fish found around the world in tropical and subtropical waters at depths up to 85 metres (279 ft), but more typically near 37 metres (121 ft). They feed on forage fish, such as mackerel and squid, and also zooplankton and crustaceans. [1] [3] They are particularly adapted to hunting flying fish. [4]
They spawn in warm ocean currents throughout much of the year, and their young are often found among seaweed. They are a relatively short lived species, with a life span of only four or five years. Mahi-mahi are among the fastest growing fish, with a minimum population doubling time under 15 months. This makes them resilient to fishing pressure. [1] However, their current vulnerability is moderate to high. [5]
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In earlier years, mahi-mahi were known mainly as bycatch in tuna and swordfish longline commercial fisheries. Now they are sought in their own right by commercial and recreational fishermen.[ citation needed ]
A typical fishing technique is to take a sport fishing boat to the edge of a reef in about 120 feet (37 m) of water and troll near a line of floating sargasso weed. Mahi-mahi often congregate around marine debris such as floating boards, palm trees and fronds, often found in association with such weed lines.[ citation needed ] Sargasso sometimes holds a complete ecosystem from microscopic creatures to seahorses, small crabs, juvenile triggerfish and other bait fish. Frigate birds dive for the food accompanying the debris or sargasso. Other fish may be present in the area. Experienced fishermen can tell what species are likely around the debris by the birds' behaviour.[ citation needed ]
Mahi-mahi typically are taken by trolling ballyhoo on the surface with 30 to 50 pound line test tackle.[ citation needed ] Once a school of Mahi are encountered, casting with small jigs or fly casting using a bait-and-switch technique can be successful. Ballyhoo or a net full of live sardines tossed into the water can be used to excite the mahi-mahis into a feeding frenzy. Hookless teaser lures can also be employed in the same manner. The teasers or live chum are tossed into the water, the fly is thrown to the feeding mahi-mahi. Once hooked, mahi-mahi are acrobatic game fish displaying spectacular blue, yellow and green colours. [6]
A very different technique uses land based kites, instead of boats and rods, as the mechanism for delivering the terminal tackle at the end of a fishing line. This method has been used to catch mahi-mahi from cliff tops in Hawaii. [7]
In French Polynesia, mahi-mahi are caught with a harpoon. Mahi-mahi don't dive when they are pursued. A specifically designed boat, called the poti marara, is used. This boat is a powerful motorized V-bottom boat, optimized for high agility and speed, and driven with a stick so that the pilot can hold his harpoon with his right hand. [8]
Mahi-mahi are found around the world in all tropical and subtropical oceans. [9] Around North America, mahi-mahi are fished recreationally along the Pacific coast, particularly in the Gulf of California, off the coast of Costa Rica, and offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to Florida. Popular recreational fisheries for mahi-mahi are located in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, along the Pacific coast of Panama and the Caribbean Sea, around Hawaiʻi, around Southeast Asia, and along the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. [10]
Mahi-mahi, referred to as dorado, are the subject of a significant section of the Yann Martel novel Life of Pi . Martel describes a fight to catch the "writhing mass of pure muscle...with a bulging forehead that speaks of a forceful personality" as "giving me a ride like I imagine a bucking bronco would give a cowboy." [11]
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Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.
The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado and dolphin, it is one of two members of the family Coryphaenidae, the other being the pompano dolphinfish. These fish are most commonly found in the waters around the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii and the Indian Ocean.
Coryphaena is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes known as the dolphinfishes, and is currently the only known genus in the family Coryphaenidae. The generic name is from Greek κορυφή and -αινα. Species in this genus have compressed heads and single dorsal fins that run the entire length of the fishes' bodies.
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, as well as the related harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. The livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends directly or indirectly on fisheries and aquaculture.
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually on a large body of water such as a sea or ocean.
The dogtooth tunaGymnosarda unicolor, also known as white tuna, is a species of pelagic marine fish which belongs to the family Scombridae.
A fish aggregatingdevice (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract ocean-going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi. They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks. FADs attract fish for numerous reasons that vary by species.
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current world record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their stringent rules for fair play and line requirements in order to receive the honor of being listed in their annual "World Record Game Fishes" publication. The publication also gives fishing tips, and has an extensive fish identification guide. The IGFA is also an ardent proponent of aquatic habitat conservation, and cooperates with biologists all over the world.
Artisanal fishing consists of various small-scale, low-technology, low-capital, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishing households. Many of these households are of coastal or island ethnic groups. These households make short fishing trips close to the shore. Their produce is usually not processed and is mainly for local consumption. Artisan fishing uses traditional fishing techniques such as rod and tackle, fishing arrows and harpoons, cast nets, and small traditional fishing boats. For that reason, socio-economic status of artisanal fishing community has become an interest of the authorities in recent years.
Marlin fishing or billfishing is offshore saltwater game fishing targeting several species of fast-swimming pelagic predatory fish with elongated rostrum collectively known as billfish, which include those from the families Istiophoridae and Xiphiidae (swordfish). It is considered by some fishermen to be a pinnacle of big-game fishing, due to the size, speed and power of the billfish and their relative elusiveness.
The blackfin tuna is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is occasionally referred to as the Bermuda tuna, blackfinned albacore, or deep bodied tunny. They are the smallest tuna species in the genus Thunnus, generally growing to a maximum of 100 cm (39 in) in length and weighing 21 kg (46 lb).
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.
Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates.
Fishing is a prehistoric practice dating back at least 70,000 years. Since the 16th century, fishing vessels have been able to cross oceans in pursuit of fish, and since the 19th century it has been possible to use larger vessels and in some cases process the fish on board. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:
Until the 1960s, agriculture and fishing were the dominant industries of the economy of South Korea. The fishing industry of South Korea depends on the existing bodies of water that are shared between South Korea, China and Japan. Its coastline lies adjacent to the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the East Sea, and enables access to marine life such as fish and crustaceans.
As with other countries, the 200 nautical miles (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of the United States gives its fishing industry special fishing rights. It covers 11.4 million square kilometres, which is the second largest zone in the world, exceeding the land area of the United States.
The fishing industry in the Maldives is the island's second main industry. According to national tradition in the words of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, "Fishing is the lifeblood of our nation, it is inborn. From the soil on which we live, to the sea around us, it remains an integral part of our existence. Fishing, and our country and its people, [are] one and shall remain inseparable forever." The Maldives has an abundance of aquatic life and species of fish. Common are tuna, groupers, dolphin fish, barracuda, rainbow runner, trevally and squirrelfish and many more. Aside from being of essential importance to the economy, fishing is also a popular recreational activity in the Maldives, not only among locals but by tourists. The islands have numerous fishing resorts which cater for these activities.
Porgy is the common name in the US for any fish which belongs to the family Sparidae. They are also called bream. Porgies live in shallow temperate marine waters and are bottom-dwelling carnivores. Most species possess grinding, molar-like teeth. They are often good eating fish, particularly the gilt-head bream and the dentex.
Farnsworth Onshore and Farnsworth Offshore State Marine Conservation Areas (SMCAs) are two contiguous marine protected areas that include offshore, island marine habitat off California's south coast. The SMCAs covers 2.57 sq mi (6.7 km2) and 6.67 sq mi (17.3 km2) respectively. The SMCAs protect marine life by limiting the removal of marine wildlife from within their borders.
