Pictures of a ghostly white blue marlin caught and released by anglers getting ready for the the third stage of Los Suenos Triple Crown Tournament in Costa Rica have achieved… Read more » Continue reading →
Pictures of a ghostly white blue marlin caught and released by anglers getting ready for the the third stage of Los Suenos Triple Crown Tournament in Costa Rica have achieved viral status and caused quite a bit of commotion after being published by numerous websites. There is no question as to the achromatic aspect and rarity of the fine specimen; however, the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) says it may not be an albino after all.
From Reddit to Outdoor Life Magazine and from the Birmingham News of Alabama to La Reppublica of Italy, the photographs taken by the crew of the 43 ft. custom motor vessel (M/V) Spanish Fly as they were casting off the coast of Playa Herradura, near Jaco Beach in the province of Puntarenas, have dazzled millions of netizens around the world.
This has been great publicity for the sports fishing industry in Costa Rica, and once again the country is known as a place where Nature enjoys manifesting her uniqueness. But, just as with the pumas hunting monkeys in Guanacaste and the pesticides killing caimans in Tortuguero, science has gone on record to correct the situation.
As recently published by Marlin Magazine:
The IGFA has made a statement that corrects quite a few publications and reports out there speculating on the newfound billfish as albino.
“Although common names for marlin generally focus on color (e.g., black marlin, blue marlin, white marlin, etc.) color is typically not the best feature to use in identifying billfish. Especially in this case! The shape and size of this marlins dorsal and pectoral fins clearly indicate that its a blue marlin even though its not blue at all. The eye color – black, rather than red or pink – also indicates that this marlin is leucistic (which is a reduction in pigmentation) rather than albino.”
The Royal Gazette of Bermuda has a rather elegant article on this discolored issue:
Most are familiar with albino versions of many species. They seem to occur in all sorts of animals, including humans. The apocryphal Moby Dick was supposed to be just such a creature, although there is photographic evidence of albino whales.
What is really amazing about this fish is that it is truly white in colour. Unlike the white marlin, which is really not all that different in colouration to a blue marlin, tending to be lighter but still having the darker shading on its back and lighter on its belly or the black marlin, which is not really black but has its darker colouration on its back and a lighter belly.
That the blue marlin is not blue is amazing enough, but what is really against the odds is the mere survival of the fish to adulthood. Fish colouration is not for the benefit of the casual observer; it is part of a rather effective camouflage that both protects the fish from predators and gives it an advantage as a predator by making it difficult to see coming.
It is also worth noting that any discussion pertaining to Tetrapturus or Kajikia albidus, known as white marlins, does not apply to the ghost blue marlin caught and released by the crew of the Spanish Fly and the lucky couple who were aboard as clients. White marlins are rare, but they are actually not so white. The ghost blue marlin of Costa Rica, on the other hand, is cocaine-white from bill to sail to tail. It may not be an albino, but it is quite rare and special.