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Swordfish
Xiphias gladius
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BIOLOGY
Swordfish is the only member of the family Xiphiidae. It is a highly migratory species, moving towards temperate or cold waters in summer to feed and returning to warmer waters to spawn. In the Atlantic spawning takes place in spring in the southern Sargasso Sea, in spring and summer in the Pacific and June-August in the Mediterranean. Usually solitary it forms large schools during spawning. Females mature at 5-6 years at a length of 150-170 cms.Males reach sexual maturity at smaller sizes.They can attain a maximum size of 4.5m and a weight of 650 kg. Most swordfish over 140 kg are female.
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ADVICE
Swordfish has low resilience and is subject to high fishing pressure. Many stocks are unmanaged and/or overfished and/or include large catches of immature swordfish and by-catch of non-target species including endangered marine turtles. The North Atlantic stock is assessed as Vulnerable by IUCN. Swordfish are also a predator at the top of the food chain and play an important role in the marine ecosystem. Increase the sustainability of the swordfish you eat by choosing swordfish from US managed waters in the North Atlantic only where measures are in place to reduce bycatch of endangered marine turtles, and fishery is responsibly managed. In Brazilian fisheries similar turtle bycatch mitigation projects (TAMAR/IBAMA) are being developed based on the US fisheries programme and a National Action Plan to reduce incidental capture of turtles created in 2001 to promote use of 'turtle-friendly' fishing practices.
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