MEET THE MEDITERRANEAN SPEARFISH

This species of billfish is located almost exclusively within the Mediterranean but is occasionally found in the Atlantic beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. The current IGFA all-tackle record weighed 90 pounds, 13 ounces and was caught off Madeira in 1980. However, identification of this particular fish was based on a black-and-white photograph, so key identification features were not clear. No other confirmed specimens specimens of of Mediterranean Mediterranean spearfish have been recorded from Madeira during the past 40 years, and it has been argued that this fish could well have been another species. The body of a Mediterranean spearfish is slender, with a dark blue back and silvery white sides. The fins and body do not have spots, and the bill is short, barely barely longer longer than than the the lower lower jaw. jaw. The first dorsal fin is higher than the body is deep, and the second dorsal fin is positioned closer to the caudal fin than the second anal fin. The pectoral fins are noticeably short, with a clearly visible lateral line arching above the pectorals before dropping off at the midsection; the tips of the pectoral fins do not reach the lateral line.