| one publication added to basket [286120] | On the breeding areas of the Swordfish (Xiphias)
Tåning, Å.V. (1955). On the breeding areas of the Swordfish (Xiphias), in: Papers in Marine Biology and Oceanography. Dedicated to Henry Bryant Bigelow, By His Former Students and Associates on the occasion of The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 1955. Deep-Sea Research (1953), 3(Supplement): pp. 438-450 In: (1955). Papers in Marine Biology and Oceanography. Dedicated to Henry Bryant Bigelow, By His Former Students and Associates on the occasion of The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 1955. Deep-Sea Research (1953), 3(Supplement). Pergamon Press: London & New York. 498 pp., more In: Deep-Sea Research (1953). Pergamon: Oxford; New York. ISSN 0146-6291; e-ISSN 1878-2485, more |   |
| Abstract | The Danish oceanographic expeditions with the Research Steamer Dana and other ships have obtained about 60 postlarval stages of Xiphias (between 5 and 46 mm in length) from all oceans. Most of these, however, were taken in the western North Atlantic. The distribution of the smallest stages (i.e. smaller than 20 mm in length) indicates that an important breeding area lies north and northeast of the Lesser Antilles in the southern part of the Sargasso Sea. Breeding areas are also indicated by records of small postlarvae west of Sumatra, in the South China Sea, in the Celebes and Banda Seas and off the Marquesas. Some spawning occurs during all seasons, but maximal spawning seems to take place during February-April in the North Atlantic. Spawning probably takes place at the same season in the western Pacific, but it occurs later in the year in the Mediterranean owing to the special temperature conditions there. The fry are usually found in water of about 24° C. or higher. They are generally captured between the surface and a depth of about 30 metres. The material at hand seems to show a growth rate of about 8 cms during the first year, but sufficient material is not yet available for an accurate determination of the growth rate. The fry preferably feed on fish larvae up to nearly the same size as the small voracious Xiphias larva itself (Fig. 1). Figures are given of three developmental stages and outline charts show where fry have been taken. Fishing for swordfish may be possible (by floating lines) in the main spawning area in the western North Atlantic. |
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