Swordfish  (Xiphias gladius)

Swordfish have been hunted by man for thousands of years, beginning with the harpooning of large female swordfish as they basked on the sea surface (3). Commercial fishing of this species commenced in the 1800s (3). Today, important swordfish fisheries exist in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans (2), and the swordfish is captured incidentally in many other fisheries (3). As a result, stock assessments suggest that three out of the six established fisheries (the Mediterranean, South Atlantic and North Atlantic) are, or have been, fished at unsustainable levels (3). Swordfish abundance in the North Atlantic has shown a continuous decline since about 1980 (3), resulting in the World Conservation Union (IUCN) classifying this stock as Endangered (1), and in the Mediterranean, total catch levels and the size composition of the swordfish catch has declined significantly (3). Reliable stock assessments are not available for many other swordfish fisheries (3), and thus IUCN consider there to be insufficient information to determine the entire species' risk of extinction (1). As well as commercial fishing, swordfish are threatened by being a prized catch of recreational anglers (3).

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), formed in 1969 to protect populations of tuna, swordfish, marlin, and other large ocean-going commercially fished species (9). In 1999, ICCAT introduced a ten year recovery plan to rebuild the North Atlantic swordfish stocks (10). The plan, involving strict fishing quotas, has been a great success, with signs of improved catch rates within just two years (3). The United States also took steps to protect North Atlantic swordfish stocks by closing swordfish nursery areas to fishing (4) (10). This remarkable recovery highlights the importance of accurate stock assessments and careful fisheries management, actions that will hopefully be undertaken on the lesser known stocks in the future.