Striped marlin (Kajikia audax) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–200 m. The main season in the United States runs all year.
Scientific name: Kajikia audax · Water: Saltwater · Season: All year
Size: up to 420 cm
The striped marlin is an epipelagic istiophorid that is oceanic and usually found above the thermocline. It generally inhabits cooler water than either the black or the blue marlin, and it is the most dominant and widely distributed of all billfishes, its abundance increasing with distance from the continental shelf; it is usually seen close to shore only where deep drop-offs occur. It is mostly solitary but forms small schools by size during the spawning season, and individuals are usually dispersed over considerably wide distances. It feeds on fishes, crustaceans and squid and is also caught with the harpoon. Its range is the Indo-Pacific, in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters, where its distribution forms a horseshoe-shaped pattern from the north-west Pacific through the eastern Pacific to the south-west Pacific, and it is a highly migratory species. Maximum length is about 420 cm total length, commonly about 290 cm, and it can live nine years, maturing at about 210 cm. Its flesh is the best among billfishes for sashimi and sushi, and it is marketed mostly frozen, sometimes fresh and also smoked. It is a commercial species and a gamefish, with a very high price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate at 44 of 100 and resilience medium, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 48 of 100. IUCN lists it as least concern. It is in season throughout the year.
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