Fish’s incredible 4,065-mile journey revealed when anglers check tag, foundation says

A sport fish hooked off Maryland just confirmed something researchers long suspected: White marlin are traveling back and forth across the Atlantic to taunt anglers on different continents.

In this case, a tag revealed the same fish caught off the Maryland coast had been reeled in 11 months earlier off Africa, according to an Aug. 14 release from The Billfish Foundation.

That amounts to swimming 12 miles a day, if it went in a straight line.

“A recapture of this nature is extremely rare. White marlin have been known to cross the Atlantic Ocean, however it is incredible to have hard evidence of this migration,” the nonprofit foundation said.

“This provides information to TBF that is extremely hard to come by and goes to show how important it is to report all tags and releases. ... In total, this white marlin was able to make a trip of over 4,000 nautical miles within a year!”

The marlin’s tag confirmed it was originally caught last summer off Morocco by angler Laurent Sayhoun and Capt. Marco Canu, the foundation said.

Then — 348 days later — it was caught by Charlie Duerr as he fished off Ocean City, Maryland, with Capt. Anthony Pino, officials said.

Duerr had the fish measured and weighed, and it proved to be “on the smaller side at 68 inches and 67 pounds,” the foundation said.

White marlin are known to be “highly migratory” across international boundaries, NOAA Fisheries says. They are built ”for fast, continual swimming” and can grow as long as 9 feet and 180 pounds, the Center for Biological Diversity reports.

Details of why the fish crossed the Atlantic were not revealed, but white marlin are known to migrate to warmer subtropical waters in the summer for spawning, the center says.

The Billfish Foundation began compiling “the largest private billfish tagging database in the world” in 1990. It is considered the cornerstone of conservation and advocacy efforts for the species, and so far includes “more than 260,000 tag and release reports,” the foundation says.

“We are extremely excited about this first-of-its kind recapture. Events like this help to illustrate that long-term tagging programs like ours ... continue to deliver valuable data for improved stock assessments and management,” the foundation said.

This story was originally published August 16, 2024 at 10:08 AM.