Tournament comments to Keith Lockwood

Type: Ocean
Region: Eastern
Location: Ocean City

From Andrew Fox, Recreational Angler:
I was fishing in the White Marlin Open last week and believe I caught a Hatchet Marlin if there is such a thing. I never have seen a fish so beautiful. It measured 66 inches and was 1 inch short of qualifying in the tournament. Please let me know what you think. Thanks, Andrew

Response from Keith Lockwood, Fisheries Biologist:
Most scientists identify hatchet marlin as round scale marlin or a round scale spearfish. They are sometimes caught out of Ocean City. Here is a little information and a few pictures.

There are three really good characters to identify a hatchet marlin/round scale spearfish: (1) the location of the vent � in a white the vent is about two inches forward of the anal fin; in a hatchet marlin/round scale spearfish it is about six inches in front; (2) the length of the branchiostegals (the rays below the gill cavity on the ventral side of the head) � in a white marlin they are relatively short, extending to the pre-opercula (about two- thirds of the way out on the gill cover), while on hatchet marlin/round scale spearfish, they extend almost all the way to the end of the gill cover; and finally (3) the scales � if you look at the side of a white it is fairly smooth in coloration while in a round scale spearfish it appears almost polka-dotted and if you run your hand forward on a white you'll get stuck by the scales � that doesn't happen on a hatchet marlin/round scale spearfish.

Photos by Keith Lockwood comparing a White Marlin to a Hatchet Marlin