Scientific Name
Istiophorus albicans

Common Name
Atlantic sailfish

Biology
Usually found in the upper layers of warm water above the thermocline, but also capable of descending to rather deep water. Often migrate into near-shore waters. Occasionally form schools or smaller groups of 3 to 30 individuals, but often occur in loose aggregations over a wide area. Feed mainly on small pelagic fishes but also takes bottom-dwelling organisms. Females grow larger (Ref. 4770). Utilized fresh, canned and frozen; eaten steamed (Ref. 9987).

Classification

Classified By

Latreille, 1804

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Billfishes (Istiophoridae)

Distribution

Region

Atlantic Ocean

Distribution

Atlantic Ocean: in tropical and temperate waters approximately 40?N in the northwest Atlantic, 50?N in the northeast Atlantic, 40?S in the southwest Atlantic, and 32?S in the southeast Atlantic. Migrating to Mediterranean Sea, mostly based on juvenile specimens. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). Some authors recognize a single worldwide species, Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw 1792) but we follow Nakamura 1990 (Ref. 10820) retaining the usage of Istiophorus platypterus for the Indo-Pacific sailfish and Istiophorus albicans for the Atlantic sailfish in recognition of differences between them.

Range

50°N - 43°S, 99°W - 37°E

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

21 °C

Water Temperature To

28 °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

200 m

Zone

pelagic-oceanic

Environment

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 43)

Trophic Level

4.5 s.e. 0.73 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

315 cm

Common Length

240 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.7505 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

High vulnerability (65 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.29-1.2 (?); tm=3.5)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated