Marlin Fishing - Blue Marlin - Angling Destinations - Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific

Blue marlin have probably been known to Japanese high seas fishermen for centuries. However, the Pacific blue marlin was not officially considered to be a separate species until 1954; prior to that date, Pacific blues were known as "silver marlin" or often confused with black marlin. The capture of a 1,002 lb Pacific blue by skipper George Parker of Kona, Hawaii, was instrumental in clearing up the identification of Pacific marlin species. Hawaii has continued to be the major centre of blue marlin fishing in the Pacific, and Hawaiian blue marlin techniques have been disseminated throughout the Pacific Basin by travelling anglers and crews, influencing blue marlin fisheries as distant as Japan and Australia.

Australia

Blue marlin range on both the east and west coasts of Australia, with fish being recorded as far south as the Tasmanian east coast and Albany on the west coast. Notable regions to fish for blue marlin in Australia are the Cairns region, southern Queensland from Fraser Island to the Gold Coast, Port Stephens and Sydney, the New South Wales south coast region (where the Australian record(s) were caught), Rottnest Island off Perth, Exmouth and Broome in the northwest of western Australia. On the east Australian coast, blue marlin are a popular target for anglers fishing out of such ports as Port Stephens, Sydney and the southern ports of Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, and Bermagui. However, the best scores in terms of numbers of fish have come from boats fishing the Gold Coast area of Queensland.

A blue marlin over 1000 lb has not yet been officially recorded in Australian waters although the Australian record capture (which is also the ladies all-tackle world record) weighed just under 1000 lb. Its weight 997 lb (452.2 kg) was caught on 37 kg (80 lb) tackle whilst fishing from Batemans Bay on the Australian NSW south coast. Apparently it took some time for the fish to be weighed which almost certainly robbed the angler of a fish reaching 1000 lb. This fish was caught in March 1999 by the then 27-year-old female angler Melanie Kisbee fishing from a boat named Radiant a 28 ft Bertram which was captained by the late Paul Gibson. The fish was caught on a topgun lure called awesome in blue and pink.

Previous to this record blue marlin, the record was held by a 417 kg fish also captured from the port of Batemans Bay during the Tollgate Island Classic putting Batemans Bay on the map as the home of big blue marlin. Previous to that, the record was held by a fish around 370 kg captured in Bermagui by angler Wayne Cummings.

Several blue marlin 400 kg plus range have been tagged and released in Australia which is now the main method of fishing. The fish this size appear to be mainly caught on the NSW coast in summer when the warmer south east current runs down the coast (January to March) and the water temperature increases to 24 °C. The larger blue marlin appear to be captured in years when the water temperate is warmer than usual. Fish larger than a thousand pounds have been hooked but none so far landed. The fishing season in Australia for blue marlin is January to May–June.

Blue marlin, whilst targeted by some in this region, tend to be captured whilst fishing for striped marlin as the latter tends to be more prevalent. Fishing for blue marlin in Australia is a mix of lure, live bait and switch baiting.

Ecuador

For more than 60 years, the waters of the Humboldt Current which sweep past Peru and Ecuador have been fished by sports fishermen. Renowned American anglers Michael Lerner and Kip Farrington visited Chile and Peru in the 1940s and their encounters with record-breaking broadbill swordfish, striped marlin and black marlin helped to bring the billfish fisheries of these subtropical Pacific waters to the attention of the international gamefishing elite.

In 1951, a group of mainly American sports fishermen set up the Cabo Blanco Fishing Club at Cabo Blanco in the far north of Peru, close to the border with Ecuador. Some of the greatest marlin fishing in the world took place here until the club closed in the sixties.

Today, the main centres for fishing this area of the Pacific coast are further north, in Ecuador, and the fishery has shifted from the pioneer fishing locations inshore, where black marlin and swordfish were fished by presenting baits to sighted fish, to further offshore for blue marlin, striped marlin and tuna. Salinas is the most well known billfishing location and seasonally offers good fishing for large striped marlin as well as blue marlin and other gamefish such as bigeye tuna. The other popular Blue Marlin destination in the country is Manta which is usually in season when Salinas is not. A large fleet of sport fishing vessels operates out of both towns. Blues in this area are known to reach large sizes, with the most notable capture being a 1,014 lb fish boated by local angler Jorge Jurado which formerly held the IGFA 80 lb class record.

Hawaii

More blue marlin are caught on rod and reel in the Hawaiian Islands than anywhere in the world. Over 60 fish of over 1,000 lb have been weighed in Hawaiian waters, including the two largest marlin caught on rod and reel: a 1,805 lb fish caught from Oahu by Capt. Cornelius Choy and a 1,656 lb fish caught off Kona by angler Gary Merriman aboard the Black Bart, skippered by Capt. Bart Miller, in March 1984.

The town of Kona on the lee coast of the Big Island of Hawaii is internationally known for its blue marlin fishing, the skill and experience of its top skippers (many of which are also skilled lure makers) and its long-standing Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). A large fleet of sport fishing vessels operates out of Honokohau Harbour.

Blue marlin skippers in the Hawaiian Islands employ both lure fishing and live-baiting techniques.

New Zealand

Although a blue marlin weighing over 1,000 lb was caught in the Bay of Islands as early as 1968, striped marlin have traditionally been the main billfish species in the New Zealand fishery. However, Pacific blue marlin captures have increased in New Zealand over the last 10 years and blue marlin are now consistently caught from along the eastern coast of the North Island. The Waihau Bay and Cape Runaway area is particularly well known for blue marlin. Blue marlin encountered in New Zealand tend to be of large average size with most averaging 300 to 500 lb. Larger specimens in the 600 lb-plus class are hooked and landed every year.

Most New Zealand blue marlin are taken by lure fishing with a wide variety of locally made and imported lures being popular.

South Pacific Islands

Blue marlin are caught in all the South Pacific islands.

Tahiti

In 1930, the American angler Zane Grey boated the first blue marlin weighing over 1,000 lb fishing a few miles south of Mataiea, Tahiti. Although damaged by a shark bite, this fish weighed in at 1,040 lb, a remarkable capture on the primitive fishing tackle of that era.

Offshore fishing in Tahiti began to develop in earnest in the 1960s following the establishment of the Haura (marlin) Club of Tahiti in 1962. Today, seven gamefishing clubs exist in the Society Islands. As in Hawaii, the average size of blue marlin in Tahitian waters is in the 90–130 kg range, but many larger individuals in the 400 lb and larger class are boated each year.

Vanuatu

The island nation of Vanuatu appears to be the premier destination for blue marlin in the South Pacific and one of the best fisheries for Pacific blues in the world. A ratified 1142 lb fish was landed in August 2007.