Kajikia audax Striped marlin, Beak, Beakie, Beaky, High-finned Spearfish, New Zealand Marlin, Stripey

Kajikia audax is the third fastest fish in our oceans, reaching top speeds of 80 km/hour.
Even the fastest mako shark cannot catch the striped marlin; it can only prey on it if it surprises the marlin or catches sick or dying animals.
Sharks also have an especially easy time when they can catch marlin hooked on longlines.

Kajikia audax is a dark blue marlin with a silvery white underside and about 20 vertical cobalt blue stripes on its sides, which do not extend to the belly.
The back of this fast sprinter is dark blue, and the stripes mentioned above consist of cobalt blue dots or narrow bands.
The first dorsal fin is dark blue, the other fins are mostly brown.

This pelagic predator is usually found above the thermocline, but unlike other marlin species such as the black marlin (Makaira indica) or the blue marlin (Makaira mazara), it ventures more easily into higher latitudes and also tolerates temperate waters.
Kajikia audax is the most dominant and widespread of all billfish.
Its abundance increases with distance from the continental shelf. If striped marlin are seen near the coast, it is only because there are deep drops for them to dive down.
Kajikia audax usually occurs singly, but forms small schools during the spawning season.

Human use:
The striped marlin is caught with harpoons, gillnets, and longlines and is fished by sport anglers because its meat is the best among billfish for sashimi and sushi.
Its meat is usually frozen, sometimes sold fresh, but also smoked.

Notes:
A reduction in fishing mortality would probably increase the spawning biomass of the species and improve the chances of higher offspring numbers.
There are large variations in weight, up to almost 490 kilograms, but we have based our figure on verifiable information.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Stefanie Flax, USA, for her great photo of Kajikia audax.

Synonyms:
Histiophorus audax Philippi, 1887 · unaccepted
Istiophorus audax (Philippi, 1887) · unaccepted
Kajikia formosana Hirasaka & Nakamura, 1947 · unaccepted
Kajikia mitsukurii (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) · unaccepted
Makaira audax (Philippi, 1887) · unaccepted
Makaira audax zelandica Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Makaira formosana (Hirasaka & Nakamura, 1947) · unaccepted
Makaira grammatica Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Makaira holei Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Makaira mitsukurii (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) · unaccepted
Makaira tenuirostratus (Deraniyagala, 1951) · unaccepted
Makaira zelandica Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Makairaf grammatica Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Marlina audax (Philippi, 1887) · unaccepted
Marlina jauffreti Smith, 1956 · unaccepted
Marlina mitsukurii (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) · unaccepted
Marlina zelandica (Jordan & Evermann, 1926) · unaccepted
Tetrapterus audax (Philippi, 1887) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Tetrapturus acutirostratus Deraniyagala, 1951 · unaccepted (misspelling)
Tetrapturus audax (Philippi, 1887) · unaccepted
Tetrapturus ectenes Jordan & Evermann, 1926 · unaccepted
Tetrapturus mitsukurii Jordan & Snyder, 1901 · unaccepted
Tetrapturus tenuirostratus Deraniyagala, 1951 · unaccepted