Istiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804)

Atlantic sailfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Perciformes \| Istiophoridae
Synonyms	Makaira albicans, Histiophorus albicans, Histiophorus americanus, ... more
Common names	Voilier de l'Atlantique, Pez vela del Atlántico, Ocean guard, ... more

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Image of Istiophorus albicans (Atlantic sailfish)

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Nakamura, I. 1985. (Ref. 43)
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Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 315 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 43); common length : 240 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 58.1 kg (Ref. 43); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 72497)

Environment

Pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); marine; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 43)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 21°C - 28°C (Ref. 43); 50°N - 43°S, 99°W - 37°E (Ref. 43)

Atlantic Ocean: in tropical and temperate waters approximately 40°N in the northwest Atlantic, 50°N in the northeast Atlantic, 40°S in the southwest Atlantic, and 32°S in the southeast Atlantic. Migrating to Mediterranean Sea, mostly based on juvenile specimens. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). Some authors recognize a single worldwide species, Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw 1792) but we follow Nakamura 1990 (Ref. 10820) retaining the usage of Istiophorus platypterus for the Indo-Pacific sailfish and Istiophorus albicans for the Atlantic sailfish in recognition of differences between them.
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Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 48 - 53; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 9 - 12; Vertebrae: 24

Usually found in the upper layers of warm water above the thermocline, but also capable of descending to rather deep water. Often migrate into near-shore waters. Occasionally form schools or smaller groups of 3 to 30 individuals, but often occur in loose aggregations over a wide area. Feed mainly on small pelagic fishes but also takes bottom-dwelling organisms. Females grow larger (Ref. 4770). Utilized fresh, canned and frozen; eaten steamed (Ref. 9987).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.29-1.2 (?); tm=3.5)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High vulnerability (65 of 100)	High

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen

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