George Shillinger, Director, Marine Spatial Planning Initiative

Kona, Hawai'i.  For the past four days, Dr. Randy Kochevar and I have been searching for the elusive blue marlin Makaira nigricans that frequent the waters off Kona during summer months. We are working with teams of international anglers (USA, Japan, Australia, New Guinea, etc.) to deploy pop-up satellite tags (PSATs) on 10-15 blue marlin, one of the most highly prized saltwater big game fish, as part of the Great Marlin Race 2010.  Our efforts are intended to generate valuable new insights about the behavior and biology of these highly migratory pelagic predators – data which will inform the management and conservation of ecologically and economically important billfisheries resources within the Pacific.