Biographies of Spearfish in Taiwan

Tags: fish | spearfish

Documentation done by Danshuitin was published in 1871. “The spearfish is black overall with back fins that look like flags. The sharp thorn on the fish head is two or three feet long. The biggest spearfish can weigh 3 to 4 hundred kilograms and the smaller ones can also weight 60 kilograms plus. If a spearfish attacks a boat, it can cause immediately sinking.” The above statement was stated in Document of Danshuiting and it became the earliest literature recorded about spearfish in Taiwan. Suao Harbor of Yilan province was built in 1923. Fishermen from Daivun, Japan came to catch spearfish at that time and thus the spearfish fishery in Taiwan began. Mr. Hungchia Yang, former expert in taxonomy of Fisheries Research Institute of Council of Agriculture of Executive Yuan had investigated and surveyed through harbors on the Taiwan coastline, and completed the drawings of different spearfishes. With the related document granted by Japanese experts in taxonomy, a total of two families, four genus, and six species of spearfish were recorded comprehensively in Trial Report by Fisheries Research Institute of Taiwan Province in 1970. Professor Shihchieh Shen of National Taiwan University and other well known experts in taxonomy in Taiwan rearranged the document and reexamined the specimens of spearfish. Fish Fauna Database in Taiwan was compiled and edited. Data on spearfish was renewed and spearfish was reclassified. Fish Fauna Database in Taiwan becomes an important reference to study biology of spearfish in Taiwan. Spearfish is an important fish type for economy purpose on the eastern coastline in Taiwan. There are not many specimens on spearfish in this Digitized Collection due to its enormous body size.
Eastern Marine Biology Research Center of Fishery Research Institute (former as Taitung Branch of Fishery Research Institute of Taiwan Province) is located in Chenggong Township that has the largest amount of fish on the eastern coastline. The Research Institute has the advantage of location and researchers. More than 2500 specimens of fish have been collected in the past thirty years. The Research Institute has the most comprehensive and representative specimens of fish on the eastern coastline. Starting from 2005, with the financial support of National Digital Archive Programs of National Science Council of Executive Yuan (also known as NDAP), specimens of fish is in progress of been digitized. A total of 1450 of 133 families, 354 genus, and 737 species have been digitized in the past two years. Specimens of six spearfish species have been preserved comprehensively here.


 

水產試驗所東部海洋生物研究中心 江偉全

2.Sailfish (Nickname in Taitung: phóa-hō-soàn)

3.Giant black malin (Nickname in Taitung: kî-hî-á)

4.Makaira mazara (Nickname in Taitung: o-phê-á)

5.Tetrapturus angustirostris (Nickname in Taitung: âng-bah-sái)

6.Tetrapturus audax (Nickname in Taitung: âng-bah-á)

Preservation of each specimen of spearfish takes large amount of labor force and time. The sail-shaped dorsal fin and all fins must be spread up, fixed to the styrofoam board with different sizes of pins, and sprinkled with Formalin. The base of fins must be injected with Formalin to keep in place. A single-lens reflex camera at high pixel must be fixed on the platform for shooting while the fish was in fresh condition. The diaphragm, focal length, and camera shutter must be adjusted. The photo of a specimen was taken. Specimens of spearfish were soaked in high concentration Formalin solution. After a month, flowing water treatment would be applied day and night for two weeks. Specimens were moved to long iron shelf for preservation. Specimens soaked in Isopropylacohol for permanent preservation and display. Digital photos of spearfish will be edited and then completing data on spearfish will be filled in based on specifications of metadata. After completion of all the information on metadata, specimens of spearfish will be shown on the web site. Each specimen can be used to classification, analysis of the fish types, calculation, and description. Specimen of tissues in liquid nitrogen and soaked specimens in ethanol can be used as the biological bar-code for studying spearfish in Taiwan.

Collections on Spearfish in Taiwan

phoa-h?-soan
  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Method of sampling: gill net
  • Data Identification: FRIP21130

Istiophorus platypterus

  • Topic and keywords: Animal
  • Descriptive Explanation: Preserved Way: Fixed by Formalin and preserved by Isopropylacohol.
  • Data Identification: FRIP00578

  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Method of sampling: stick-held dip net
  • Data Identification: FRIP001327

Istiophorus platypterus

  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Long and cylinder shape with latterly flat body. The end stem with two spines is thin but strong. Its head is long. The mouth is long and sharp, protruding as a sword and it is big, but has a slanting crack. Teeth on the upper jaw are many but small and look like a stripe. There are no teeth on vomerine bone. The fish is long and thin with hard scales. The first dorsal fin is significantly taller than its body and is in sail-shaped. The second dorsal fin is short and smaller. The pectoral fin is low and is sickle-shaped. The ventral fin is located right behind pectoral fin and extended to the anus. The tail fin is fork-shaped. The back of the body is purple-black color and the belly is silver white. There is no waist stripe or spots on the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin is blue-black with small black spots. The ventral fin is blue-black with few black spots and the tail fin is also dark color.
  • The inhabitant: Fish swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It is mostly discovered in warmer waters. They often can be seem in schools in waters around the islands. It swims fast and swims back for breeding. It preys other fishes, shells, and cephalopods.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters in India Ocean and Pacific Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. It is also available everywhere in Taiwan, particularly in the east and south coast of Taiwan.
  • Fishery exploration: Ninety-six percent of the spearfish is in waters of Pacific Ocean, particularly near Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Long line fishing, gill net, set net, trawl, or spear method are the methods to catch spearfish. The spearfish is delicious and wildly use in cuisines, such as Japanese sashimi, stir-fry, soup, manufactured cans, snacks, or grounded fish.
  • Data Identification:

Makaira indica
  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Long and cylinder shape with latterly flat body.. The end stem with two spines is thin but strong. Its head is long. The mouth is long and sharp, protruding as a sword and it is big, but has a slanting crack. Teeth on the upper jaw are many but small and look like a stripe. There are no teeth on vomerine bone. The fish is long and thin with hard scales. The side line is single and extends to the end. The first dorsal fin is significantly taller than its body and is in sail-shaped. The second dorsal fin is short and smaller. The pectoral fin is low and is sickle-shaped. The pectoral fin and body axle make a right angle and cannot be bend backward. The ventral fin is located right behind the pectoral fin and not extended to the anus. The tail fin is fork-shaped. The back of the body is blue-brownish color and the belly is silver white. There is no waist stripe or spots on the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin is blue-black. The ventral fin is blue-black and the tail fin is dark color.
  • The inhabitant: It swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It is mostly discovered in warmer waters. The fish often can be seem up in schools in waters around the coastlines and islands. Swims fast and tend to swim back for breeding. It preys other fishes, shells, and cephalopod, particularly the parr of mackerel and tuna.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters in India Ocean and Pacific Ocean, Cape of Good Hope, and the Atlantic. It is also available in the east and south coast of Taiwan.
  • Fishery exploration: Long line fishing and spear method are the methods to catch spearfish. It is caught particularly in the waters in east and south coast of Taiwan. Makaira indica contains more fat and the meat is white, so it is also called white-meat spear fish. It can be used as Japanese sashimi, hence it often being exported to Japan.
  • Data Identification:

Tetrapturus angustirostris

  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Long and cylinder shape with latterly flat body. The end stem with two spines is thin but strong. Its head is long. The mouth is long and sharp, more protruding than the lower jaw and it is big, but has a slanting crack. Teeth on the upper jaw are many but small and look like a stripe. There are no teeth on vomerine bone. The fish is long and thin with hard scales. The side line is single and extends to the end. The first dorsal fin is significantly equal or taller than its body. Most soft rays are equally long from the front to the back. The second dorsal fin is short and smaller. The pectoral fin is low and is sickle-shaped. The pectoral fin is significantly shorter than the ventral fin. The ventral fin is located right behind the pectoral fin and not extended to the anus. The tail fin is fork-shaped. The back of the body is chalk-black and the belly is silver white. There is no waist stripe or spots on the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin is blue-black. The ventral fin is also blue-black color and the tail fin is in dark color.
  • The inhabitant: Fish swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It is mostly discovered in warmer waters. The fish seldom swims in schools in waters around the coastlines. It is fast swimmer and would swim back for breeding. It preys other fishes, shells.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters in India Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Few will swim to the Temperate Zone, or through Cape of Good Hope to the Atlantic. It is available in the east coast of Taiwan.
  • Fishery exploration: The fish is used for economy purpose. Long line fishing, gill net, set net, trawl, or spear method are the common methods to catch spearfish. The fish is delicious and wildly use in cuisines such as Japanese sashime, stir-fry, soup, manufactured cans, snacks, or grounded fish.
  • Data Identification:

Tetrapturus audax
  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Long and cylinder shape with latterly flat body. The end stem with two spines is thin but strong. Its head is long. The mouth is long and sharp, significantly protruding than the lower jaw and it is big, but has a slanting crack. Teeth on the upper jaw are many but small and look like a stripe. There are no teeth on vomerine bone. The fish is long and thin with hard scales. The side line is single and extends to the end. The first dorsal fin is equal or taller than its body. Most soft rays get shorter from the front to the back. The second dorsal fin is short and smaller. The pectoral fin is low and is sickle-shaped. The pectoral fin equals to the ventral fin in length. The ventral fin is located right behind the pectoral fin and not extended to the anus. The tail fin is fork-shaped. The back of the body is brownish color and the belly is silver white. There is a white waist stripe on the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin is black with black dots. The black dots disappears as it matures. The ventral fin is blue-black and the tail fin is in dark color.
  • The inhabitant: Tetrapturus audax swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It is mostly discovered in warmer waters. The fish seldom swims in schools in waters around the coastlines. It is a fast swimmer and tend to swim back for breeding. It preys other fishes, shells, and cephalopod.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters in India Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Some will swim through Cape of Good Hope to the Atlantic. It is also available in the east coast of Taiwan.
  • Fishery exploration: This type of fish is used for economic purpose. There are a total of 500 to 2000 tons of fish production worldwide. Long line fishing and spear method are the methods to catch spearfish. Tetrapturus audax gets its name because its meat is red. It can be served as Japanese sashimi and hence being exported abroad. Its meat can be deep-fried or stir-fried with pork chop.
  • Data Identification:

Xiphias gladius
  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
  • Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Short and strong body with the thin and flat end stem. A central spine is on each side with no other spine. The mouth is long and sharp, protruding as a sword. It has big eyes and teeth are thin and small. The teeth disappear as the fish matures. Adult fish does not have teeth on the upper jaw. The fish has no gill. The first dorsal fin is short, and far away from the second dorsal fin. The pectoral fin is low. The fish has no ventral fin. The pectoral fin is fork-shaped and powerful. The tip of the pectoral fin is concave. The back and the side of the body are brown-black and the belly is light brownish color. The first dorsal fin is dark brown and the rests of fins are brown or dark brown color.
  • The inhabitant: Fish swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It swims back seasonally. It tends to stay in warm waters around 13℃-27℃. Some can be found in cooller waters of 5℃-10℃. The fish swims alone and preys mackerel, flying fish, and coryphaenidae. It can be active on the surface of or hundred meters below the sea. It can be found mostly in waters of Kurshio Ocean in the east coast of Taiwan. It lays eggs in summer, around August and September.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed mostly in tropical and sub-tropical waters, but can be found occasionally in cooler waters. It is available around Taiwan, particularly in the east coast.
  • Fishery exploration: This type of fish is used for economic purpose. There are a total of 35000 to 42000 tons of fish production worldwide. Single fishing rod or set net are the methods to catch spearfish. Seine or drift net are commonly used in some areas. The fish is suitable for various cooking such as soup or canned food. It also being made with preserved soybean paste ( miso fish) in some areas. It is easier to catch the fish in March to April or July to December.
  • Data Identification:
Makaira mazara
  • Topic and keywords: Istiophoridae
Descriptive Explanation: Appearance Characteristics: Long and cylinder shape with latterly flat body. The end stem with two spines is thin but strong. Its head is long. The mouth is long and sharp, protruding as a sword and it is big, but has a slanting crack. Teeth on the upper jaw are many but smaller and look like a stripe. There are no teeth on vomerine bone. The fish is long and thin with hard scales. The first dorsal fin is significantly shorter than its body. The second dorsal fin is short and smaller. The tail fin is low and is sickle-shaped. The pectoral fin can be bent backward. The ventral fin is located right behind the pectoral fin and not extended to the anus. The pectoral fin is fork-shaped. The back of the body is blue-brownish and the belly is silver white color. There is a white waist stripe on the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin is blue-black color. The ventral fin is dark brown and the tail fin is in dark color.
  • The inhabitant: Fish swims back and forth on upper central level of the ocean. It is mostly discovered in warmer waters. The fish seldom swims in schools in waters around the coastlines and islands. It is a fast swimmer and tend to come back for breeding. It preys on fish and cephalopod.
  • Geographical range: It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters in India Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Some may move into the temperate zone, or swim through Cape of Good Hope and arrive the Atlantic. It is also available in the east coast of Taiwan.
  • Fishery exploration: Makaira mazar is used for economic purpose. The total production is around 5000 to 10000 tons worldwide. Long line fishing, gill net, set net, trawl, or spear method are the methods to catch spearfish. The fish is delicious and can be use in various cooking such as Japanese sashimi, stir-fry, soup, manufactured cans, snacks, or grounded fish.
  • Data Identification: