Haunts of the Swordfish

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1938, Page 8

Haunts of the Swordfish

NEWS that an American expedition is coming to New Zealand in the New Year to study the habits of swordfish as part of a worldwide survey, will interest both deepsea fishermen and naturalists. The proposed survey is of particular interest to Northland, since the presence of swordfish, in abundance in our coastal waters gives them a strong attraction to sportsmen, and gives them also a strong claim to the title applied by Mr. Zane Grey, “The Angler’s El Dorado.” Although swordfish of various types are caught in considerable numbers off the coast every year, our knowledge of them is curiously incomplete. Indeed, it is not so many years ago that their presence in large numbers was not even suspected. One of the things that has often puzzled anglers is why these fish should occur in large numbers at Cape Brett. The answer is that swordfish are to be found wherever the coast line drops steeply intodepths of about 100 fathoms. » Wherever such conditions exist, there good fishing is obtainable. Mayor Island offers similar conditions to those at Cape Brett, and the same applies to the Three Kings, which, unfortunately, are not accessible to the average sportsman. We know that three kinds of swordfish—the striped marlin, which is the common variety; the black marlin, less common; and the broadbill, or true swordfish, which is rare in New Zealand (only three or four ’have been caught), but is fished for commercially off the coasts of South Carolina and Portugal. We know that the fish are to be found in our Northern water's throughout the year, but that their numbers increase as the water becomes warmer. We know that they are attracted by large numbers of school fish, as at Cape Brett, and that their cruising range is enormous. The broadbill could swim round the world; but there is much still to be learned about these interesting creatures, and the American expedition will no doubt extend our knowledge of them.