WEBVTT - How Do Sailfish Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>vogelbom here. One of the coolest looking and most recognizable

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<v Speaker 1>fish in the ocean, the sailfish is also one of

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<v Speaker 1>the fastest and most athletic in the world. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>type of billfish, a group of predatory fish species that

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<v Speaker 1>also includes the swordfish, spearfish, and marlin. A billfish are

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<v Speaker 1>known for their long, spear like bills and for their

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<v Speaker 1>impressive size and speed. A billfish species tend to be

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<v Speaker 1>apex predators and use their bills to help hunt and

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<v Speaker 1>catch prey. They don't literally spear the prey with their swords,

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<v Speaker 1>but more often they use those bills to slash at

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<v Speaker 1>and stun schooling fish. They also have visually striking dorsal

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<v Speaker 1>fins on their backs, though none are as remarkable as

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<v Speaker 1>the sailfishes. Its signature sale like dorsal fin grows along

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<v Speaker 1>almost the entire length of its body can be taller

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<v Speaker 1>than the fish is wide from spine to stomach, a

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<v Speaker 1>meaning that the sale is about as big as the

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<v Speaker 1>sailfish itself, and that's pretty big. The sailfish can grow

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<v Speaker 1>up to ten feet that's three meters long from tip

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<v Speaker 1>to tail, and can weigh upwards of two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty pounds that's one hundred kilos. Even at that size,

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<v Speaker 1>they are fast. They can swim nearly seventy miles an

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<v Speaker 1>hour or one hundred and ten kilometers an hour, making

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<v Speaker 1>the sailfish the fastest fish in the ocean. Just to

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<v Speaker 1>put that in perspective, the cheetah, the fastest animal on land,

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<v Speaker 1>tops out at about the same speed. The sailfish can

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<v Speaker 1>be found in temperate two tropical bodies of salt water

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<v Speaker 1>around the world. They live about four or five years

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<v Speaker 1>in the wild, but have been known to survive about

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<v Speaker 1>twice that in captivity. Are they're commonly seen along the

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<v Speaker 1>southeast coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico,

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<v Speaker 1>and around Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the Windward Islands. They're

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<v Speaker 1>also found in parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans,

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<v Speaker 1>with some occasionally found in the mediterrane and Sea. Though

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<v Speaker 1>sailfish are fast, they don't typically travel far, preferring warm

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<v Speaker 1>coastal waters and hunting grounds close to the ocean's surface.

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<v Speaker 1>Studies have shown that sailfish can deploy and retract those

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<v Speaker 1>impressive fins at will. When their sale is retracted, sailfish

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<v Speaker 1>can reduce their drag, generating more thrust and speed. The

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<v Speaker 1>opposite is also true with the sail raised, they can

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<v Speaker 1>increase their drag and slow down dramatically. A sailfish have

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<v Speaker 1>distinctive color patterns too, that help differentiate them from other billfish.

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<v Speaker 1>They have mostly blue bodies and white bellies, and a

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<v Speaker 1>pattern of light blue spots and vertical stripes. Their fins

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<v Speaker 1>are usually blackish blue, and their coloring can change when

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<v Speaker 1>they're particularly active or excited. Around the world. They have

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<v Speaker 1>a few common prey, including large fish, squid, and crustaceans

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<v Speaker 1>like crabs and shrimp. A sailfish have been observed working

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<v Speaker 1>together to surround and trap schools of sardines. Method was

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<v Speaker 1>documented with as few as for sailfish to as many

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<v Speaker 1>as seventy, though the hunting didn't appear to be coordinated. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the sailfish charged the school of sardines one at a

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<v Speaker 1>time and used their bills to slash and prod the fish.

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<v Speaker 1>According to one's study, sailfish might not catch as many

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<v Speaker 1>fish as they would if they were hunting alone, but

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<v Speaker 1>they definitely don't have to work as hard for it.

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<v Speaker 1>The salefish's size means that they are generally at the

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<v Speaker 1>top of the food chain, but they are preyed upon

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<v Speaker 1>by a few larger species, typically sharks, orcas, and Mahi mahi.

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<v Speaker 1>The meat of the saalefish is tough, so they have

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<v Speaker 1>very little value on the commercial seafood market, but because

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<v Speaker 1>of their speed, strength and striking looks, they're very popular

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<v Speaker 1>targets for sport fishing. A recreational fisherman must use certain

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<v Speaker 1>kinds of gear to minimize injury to the sailfish, and

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<v Speaker 1>nearly all are catch and release. Only fishermen with a

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<v Speaker 1>Federal Atlantic Highly Migratory Species permit can keep them, and

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<v Speaker 1>they must be at least five and a quarter feet

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<v Speaker 1>or one point six meters long to be legal. For

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<v Speaker 1>the article, this episode is based on How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>Spoke with Captain Ray Rocher, who has been a professional

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<v Speaker 1>fisherman since nineteen seventy nine. Rocher has decades of experience

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<v Speaker 1>with salefish that began in the nineteen seventies when he

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<v Speaker 1>used to eat smoked salefish at his grandfather's house. A

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<v Speaker 1>Rocher said, my grandfather was really focused on catching them

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<v Speaker 1>and we grew up eating them. It was just part

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<v Speaker 1>of our life, a staple of his days of fishing

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<v Speaker 1>on the drift boats. Then, I would say in the

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<v Speaker 1>eighties people became more focused on conservation and using circle

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<v Speaker 1>hooks and releasing salefish. He explained that salefish are particularly

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<v Speaker 1>popular for sport fishing because they're fun to pursue a quote.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a challenge involved in catching them, and obviously they're beautiful.

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<v Speaker 1>They're really exciting to catch. They jump, they average about

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<v Speaker 1>seven feet or over two meters total in length, and

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<v Speaker 1>they fight hard. Generally, However, even though sailfish aren't targeted

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<v Speaker 1>for commercial fishing, that's still the biggest threat to their population.

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<v Speaker 1>A Salefish are sometimes caught along with tuna and other

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<v Speaker 1>fish as by catch, a fishing gear for large scale

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<v Speaker 1>food production. In the United States, the National Marine Fisheries

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<v Speaker 1>Service enforces conservation efforts. All commercial ships flagged in the

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<v Speaker 1>US are prohibited from selling, retaining, or purchasing saalefish, along

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<v Speaker 1>with all other Atlantic billfish species. As we mentioned, recreational

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<v Speaker 1>fishers must have all proper permits to catch sailfish, and

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<v Speaker 1>they must release them back to the ocean. Rocher said,

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<v Speaker 1>in his experience, the conservation efforts have paid off. Quote.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the big factors in South Florida is that

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<v Speaker 1>they're prevalent enough to target. Meaning if I only see

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<v Speaker 1>one every week, people just wouldn't spend the money to

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<v Speaker 1>pursue them. Just not common enough, right, just not achievable

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<v Speaker 1>enough to go out and catch one or two or

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<v Speaker 1>three a day. Salefish in their current population are that prevalent,

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<v Speaker 1>and although fellow landlocked folks like myself might not be

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<v Speaker 1>very familiar with it, there is a lot of money

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<v Speaker 1>in the sport fishing industry. Rocher said, the benefit that

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<v Speaker 1>salefish bring to a local economy is staggering when you

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<v Speaker 1>look at what people spend to go catch them. I

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<v Speaker 1>have three charter boats. I also fish on other tournament boats.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't even tell you how many hundreds of thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars are spent in my presence in a year

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<v Speaker 1>in the pursuit of generally or mainly salefish. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article Salefish are super fast, stunning

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<v Speaker 1>and smart ocean predators on how stuffworks dot Com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by scheris three Whip Brain. Stuff is production of iHeartRadio

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<v Speaker 1>and partnership with how Stuffworks dot com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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