Coral Sea Region Billfish Atlas

Seasonal distribution and abundance of billfish species around the Coral Sea Rim

Solomon Islands; Papua New Guinea; Vanuatu

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Table of Contents
Introduction
Purpose of the atlas
Plateaus, troughs and trenches
Winds
Currents
Key to common billfishes
Marlin characteristics
Sexing billfish
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Species synopses
Black marlin
Blue marlin
Striped marlin
Sailfish
Broadbill swordfish

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Seasonal catch-rates
Black marlin
Striped marlin
Blue marlin
Sailfish
Broadbill swordfish
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu

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Towards the future
Comments on the data sheet
Data sources and acknowledgments

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List of figures
Major geographic locations
Major bathymetric features
Seasonal wind pattern - January
Seasonal wind pattern - July
Seasonal current pattern (June)
Seasonal current pattern (December)
Sexing billfish
Seasonal catch-rates
Sample billfish data sheet
Black marlin catch-rate
Blue marlin catch-rate
Striped marlin catch-rate
Sailfish catch-rate

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