What a season!
As Dr Julian Pepperell describes, Australia’s south-east coast turned
on perhaps the best marlin season ever recorded this year, with a
phenomenal quantity of black, striped and blue marlin appearing
simultaneously over many hundreds of kilometres of coastline.T
he recent game fishing season off south-eastern Australia was something to behold, with
a particularly strong run of juvenile black marlin that turned up on cue off the Sunshine
and Gold coasts in December. Striped marlin were also in abundance on the southern
New South Wales coast in early summer, extending right down to Eden near the Victorian
border where many boats made multiple releases of the species. Even Malacoota in Victoria had
a purple patch of stripes at its doorstep.The black marlin run continued down the coast to Port Stephens and on to Sydney, while
the blue marlin fishing was almost certainly the best on record – at least since Australia’s
blue marlin fishery was really ‘discovered’ in the mid-1980s. From most ports along the coast,
boats were returning from the day’s action
with multiple marlin tag flags flying. Many
boasted slams of black, blue and striped
marlin, with numbers from 10 to 15 marlin
in one day not uncommon.Perhaps the crescendo of the season was
reached over the second half of February
off Port Stephens in New South Wales,
where two back-to-back tournaments
were held from the port over successive
weekends. The Billfish Shootout saw 170
boats fishing over two days, followed
by the NSW Interclub tournament, which drew 120 boats fishing over a three-day weekend.
The results were nothing short of remarkable. The Shootout saw 285 marlin caught (98.5%
tagged), while the Interclub registered 455 marlin (95.4% tagged) for a total of 740 marlin
over the two weekends.This total has been bettered in the past, but only once, in 1997 when juvenile black marlin
completely dominated the tally of nearly 1000 marlin tagged. This year, the juvenile blacks also
turned up in force, representing 48% of the 740 captures, but so were striped marlin, making
up exactly one third of the total. However, perhaps the biggest news was the 134 blue marlin
either tagged or weighed, far outstripping the numbers of that species caught during these two
events in the past.With so many blue marlin being caught, it was not surprising that a fair few were weighed,
either for capture points or because some had died during the fight. This meant that during
the Interclub, a total of 21 blue marlin were weighed, providing me with a great opportunity to
examine them and take tissue samples for future studies. Over my many years of attendance
at NSW tournaments, I have measured and sexed more than 150 blue marlin. Over 95% of
these have been female fish, with an average weight of 140 to 150kg. Fish below 100kg have
been comparatively rare, with just 8% of the total weighing less than 100kg. This year also
saw a very high female-to-male ratio (20 of the 21 fish were females), however, one-third of
the landed fish weighed less than 100kg, with the smallest being 74kg.The most remarkable thing about this year’s marlin bonanza was the concentration of fish
right along the coast. Sure there were hotspots, the famous Port Stephens ‘carpark’ being one,
but all three species were at times simultaneously spread over very large distances. Of course,
all these marlin didn’t just materialise along the continental shelf. However, for some reason
or combination of reasons, they aggregated for an extended period over a long band where
they were accessible to anglers fishing from multiple ports. Perhaps the biomass of baitfish was
unusually high and widespread, or perhaps temperatures, sea height, plankton, chlorophyl and
nutrient concentrations just all somehow aligned in some yet-to-be understood perfect way.Whatever the reasons, this was a season to be remembered, at the same time reminding us
of the wonderful uncertainties that make fishing so unpredictable.DR PEPPERELL
DR JULIAN PEPPERELLis
a recognised world authority
on billfish and other pelagic
species. He is especially well-
known for developing the
Australian gamefish tagging
program. Julian formed his
ownresearchcompanyin
1991andconductsresearch
in partnership with universities,
government and the private
sector.Heisalsoanadjunct
professoratseveralAustralian
universities.Heprovidesa
rare gift in his ability to bridge
thegapbetweenthescientific
community and recreational
anglers.
“The Port Stephens Shootout saw
285 marlin caught (98.5% tagged),
while the Interclub registered 455
marlin (95.4% tagged) for a total of
740 marlin over the two weekends.”
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