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Sailfish

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Sailfish images (Istiophorus platypterus) - stock photos showing the fastest fish in the ocean

Conservation status | Least Concern
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Actinopterygii > Order: Istiophoriformes > Family: Istiophoridae > Genus: Istiophorus > Species: I. platypterus
Binomial name | Istiophorus platypterus

Sailfish are two species of billfish related to marlin. The Atlantic sailfish, Istiophorus albicans, lives in the Atlantic Oceans and the Caribbean Sea. The Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. However, no differences have been found in DNA, morphometrics or meristics between the two and most authorities now only recognized a single species, Istiophorus platypterus, found in temperate to tropical oceans around the world.

They are dark blue on top, with a brown blue lateral line, and a silvery color belly. Sailfish get their name from the very distinctive first dorsal fin which is large, erect, and sail shaped, and stretches the entire length of the back. The sail is folded down for normal swimming, but raised when the fish is threatened, or when feeding to help herd a school of fish. The sail is lit up with bright colors when the sailfish is excited.

The top jaw of a sailfish is elongated into a spear shape like that of swordfish and marlin, and is used in hunting. They feed on the surface or in midwater, and eat squid, octopus, sardines, anchovies and other schooling fish. Sailfish will also eat tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest swimmers, and they are able to catch them because they are the fastest fish in the ocean, having been recorded swimming at more than 65 miles per hour.

Sailfish grow quickly, reaching five feet long in a year, and can grow to be 10 foot long and weigh up to 200 pounds. The largest fish are usually females. They spawn during the summer months, with the females swimming through shallow water with their dorsal fin above the water surface. One or two males will swim along side and spawn near the surface. A female may release as many as four million eggs. Hatchlings are only 0.125 inches long. By the time they are eight inches long they have all the characteristics of an adult, including the sail and the elongated jaw.

Sailfish meat is tough and rarely eaten but they are highly prized “game” fish. When hooked, they will fight vigorously, leaping and diving time after time. The Atlantic sailfish has been driven down to nearly 50% of its sustainable levels. Sport fishermen voluntarily release over 95 percent of all billfish they catch. However, the commercial longline fishing are responsible for 99 percent of the incidental kill caused by U.S. vessels. The National Marine Fisheries Service manages the sailfish under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. All U.S. flagged commercial vessels are prohibited from selling, retaining, or purchasing Atlantic billfish including sailfish.
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