Do Billfish See Color??

[Lobo Marine Products]

I am currently doing a research paper that revolves around Pelagic fish species ability to detect color. So far i have been able to obtain scientific articles about Marlin, swords and Yellowfin. I would like to get some feedback from Captains and fisherman on this topic. It would help me out so much and once the research paper is done i will email it to those who would like a copy! thank you guys

[andyyar]

Would love to have a copy once complete. I would also be interested in seeing some of the scientific articles you have been able to locate on a Billfish's ability to see color. My only scientific frame of reference is what I remember reading of some articles Peter Wright wrote, wherein he suggests (If I remember correctly) that Billfish are color blind, but are able to detect contrast between light colors and dark colors set against various backgrounds. I seem to remember him suggesting that one black lure and one white lure would effectively cover the visible color range of a marlin. That being said i don't have any solid white or black lures, and seem to default to trying to match the hatch considering the bait presence at the time. Look forward to reading your conclusions.

[Swami]

I agree with andyarr, that marlin and sails do not see in colors like humans do, but in varying shades of black and white, or more likely blue and white.

Think about it--you live in a world of blue: the water, the sky, for the most part, all blue. Colors disappear just a short distance below the surface, so being able to see in color doesn't do you any good. It's the ability to see in shades of blue and to visually detect movement at fairly long distance, coupled with a sensitive lateral line to pick up vibrations from even farther away, that makes you an effective predator.

[clt_capt]

Not too long ago, I read an article from a biologist researching fish and color... I seem to recall that the structure of a marlin's eye is capable of detecting some differences in color - maybe more than just shades of grey...

[Robja]

Lobo,

There was an article in either Sport fishing or saltwater sportsmen magazines in the last year or so that addressed that subject as well.

[Hennessy]

last year from a couple scientists that proved that different species of fish see colors depending on the rods and cones that exist in each fishes eyes. Like people you take in light spectrums and process it to make colors in your brain.

I do remember that marlin had no ultra violet cones but tend to light up with many ultra-violet colors in there skin which would make them invisible when they want to other marlin.

I also recall that large mouth bass had the lowest # of colors for it's vision/

anyway look up that article it was in 07 or 08 monthly report IGFA cant recall but very interesting.

the easiest method to determine a fishes ability to see color is catch him and ask him yourself.

[Ultralite]

Your principal source on this type of information would be:

Kerstin A. Fritsches of the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre, Queensland Brain Institute School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia.

I tried to attach one of her studies on the eyes of swordfish. Fascinating stuff. I know she did work on blue marlin eyes.

Current Biology, Vol. 15, 55–58, January 11, 2005, ©2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2004.12.064
Warm Eyes Provide Superior Vision in Swordfishes
ters of up to 90mm(Figure 1A). Such large eyes suggest Kerstin A. Fritsches,1,* Richard W. Brill,2
and Eric J. Warrant3 that swordfishes are highly visual predators, adapted to
maximize visual performance in the dim down-welling 1Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre
Queensland Brain Institute daylight at great ocean depths. Using isolated retinal
preparations for ERG recordings from swordfishes, we School of Biomedical Sciences
University of Queensland investigated the retina’s response to sinusoidally modulated
light stimuli of various intensities at different tem- Brisbane
Australia peratures.Wefound that temperature had a pronounced
effect on temporal resolution as measured by the flicker 2Northeast Fisheries Science Centre
National Marine Fisheries Service fusion frequency (FFF), the stimulus frequency at which
the retina is no longer able to resolve the sinusoidally National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Washington, DC 20230 modulated light stimulus (Figure 1B; greater temporal
resolution is equated with a higher FFF). The swordfish 3 Vision Group
Department of Cell and Organism Biology retina was exceptionally sensitive totemperature changes,
showing an increase in FFF from 5 Hz or less at 10
C University of Lund
Lund to over 40 Hz at 20
C (Figure 2A). Intact swordfishes
maintain brain and eye temperatures between 19
C and Sweden
28
C [2], thus allowing a substantially higher FFF at low
ambient temperatures (Figure 2A, gray shading).
The light-adapted swordfish retina showed a Q10 (the
Summary fractional increase in FFF per 10
C) of 5.1 (n  6, r2 
0.80). This Q10 value was more than twice as high as
Large and powerful ocean predators such as sword- those measured in two species of tunas, which we
fishes, some tunas, and several shark species are tested for comparison. The surface-living yellowfin tuna
unique among fishes in that they are capable of main- (Thunnus albacares) and the deep-diving bigeye tuna
taining elevated body temperatures (endothermy) (Thunnus obesus) revealed Q10 values of 2.3 (nyellowfin tuna 
when hunting for prey in deep and cold water [1–3]. 5, r2  0.72) and 2.5 (nbigeye tuna  6, r2  0.76), respectively
In these animals, warming the central nervous system (Figure 2B). These results in tunas are comparable with
and the eyes is the one common feature of this ener- the temperature sensitivity of visual function found in
getically costly adaptation [4]. In the swordfish (Xiph- other studies [7–9]. Both bigeye and yellowfin tunas
ias gladius), a highly specialized heating system lo- achieve whole-body warming using vascular countercated
in an extraocular muscle specifically warms the current heat exchange interposed between the swimeyes
and brain up to 10
C–15
C above ambient water ming muscles and the gills. This leads to improvements
temperatures [2, 5]. Although the function of neural in a range of temperature-sensitive physiological prowarming
in fishes has been the subject of considerable cesses such as locomotion, digestion, metabolism, and
speculation [1, 6, 7], the biological significance of this neural function [10]. For swordfishes it appears that no
unusual ability has until now remained unknown. We other physiological processes other than neural function
show here that warming the retina significantly im- require warming in order to allow thermal niche expanproves
temporal resolution, and hence the detection sion [4]. This has led to the development of a heating
of rapid motion, in fast-swimming predatory fishes mechanism devoted exclusively to the eye and brain, a
such as the swordfish. Depending on diving depth, mechanism fundamentally different to that found in the
temporal resolution can be more than ten times greater tuna. The exceptional temperature sensitivity of the swordin
these fishes than in fishes with eyes at the same fish retina described here might have driven the evolutemperature
as the surrounding water. The enhanced tion of this unique adaptation, thus preventing a rapid
temporal resolution allowed by heated eyes provides deterioration of temporal resolution with decreasing
warm-blooded and highly visual oceanic predators, temperature as the swordfish descends.
such as swordfishes, tunas, and sharks, with a crucial The temporal resolution of a visual system is not only
advantage over their agile, cold-blooded prey. affected by temperature; the FFF also decreases with
decreasing light intensity [11] (Figure 3A). As the swordfish
descends in clear water on a sunny day, light intensi- Results and Discussion
ties reach starlight levels by 600–700 min depth [12,
13]. We translated our experimental light intensities into Due to the large size of swordfishes, and their remote
equivalent diving depths (see Experimental Procedures) open-ocean habitat, we recorded electroretinograms
to approximately correlate the FFF with light levels expe- (ERGs) from fishes caught live at sea on longline gear.
rienced by the fish when diving. Between depths of 100 The animals used in this study had body lengths ranging
m and 500 m and at a retinal temperature of 22
C, the from 130 cm to 206 cm (jaw-fork length) and eye diame-
FFF decreases from 40 Hz to 2 Hz (Figure 3A), which
increases the signal-to-noise ratio and improves contrast
discrimination by suppressing photon noise at *Correspondence: kerstin.fritsches@uq.edu.au

[Sterling]

Honestly, I have no idea but some related thoughts. What I believe is that many things in the ocean are color coded for a reason. Certain colors mean poison, some for reproduction, some mean anger, and fish light up for a reason. I can also say that seeing color is a relative term. Many people who are "color blind" actually see a rather full spectrum but blend some colors. Another angle relevant to fishermen is that if Marlin are in fact color blind, that likely means that they interpret shades differently than we typically would. Color blind people, for example, are often able to distinguish shades better and even see patterns that "regular" sighted people don't.

I believe that marlin magazine did a story related to this at some point.

[Captain Fred Archer]

This has been an endless topic of discussion between marine biologists and fishermen, with the former more likely to be right, IMO. As a fisherman and lure maker and author of instructional books on fishing, I have always been fascinated and interested in the subject. And asked about my "favorite colors" many, many times. I've read every scientific paper that I could find on this subject for decades now and have experimented with color on a near daily basis down south and I write about what I have learned there, from the research papers and diving extensively in my books.

As you can see, those scientific papers can be daunting reads (thanks for the ones posted, Ultralite) and I have found that most fishermen simply do not want to wade through them. Thus a lot of color myths not supported by solid science abound.

I found the swordfish and bigeye stuff especially interesting and the unique physical capabilities of each are described and discussed (in every day English) in the books that I have written about them. That includes the fact that swordfish have the highest known content of mitochondria (spell...and no, it's not an STD) in their eyes and brains. It creates the heat that allows swords to operate and hunt in the depths, where their bodies do cool down and they have to come up to warm them on the surface or just below it.

I have never read about bigeye tuna sharing that mitochondria thing with the swords, except that the adults react the very same way, dive to over four thousand feet at times and rise close to the surface - generally with the dsc (deep scattering layer) during tide changes to warm their body mass and have similar oils in their flesh that helps withstand the huge pressures down deep and that makes the bigeyes the number two tuna in value to the sashimi buyers. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they share the same or similar mitochondria concentrations and that they perform the same functions for them as the swords.

Unlike swordfish, the bigeyes don't seem to need to expose themselves to direct sunlight to warm up, but that in essence is the only difference between these two fish that are pretty rare catches; mainly, I think, because fishermen tend to apply the same rules to them as surface species. I have caught them both, right down to commercial rod and reel, and if I hadn't fished them by their very different rules, I know that my fellow pinhookers and charterboat captains and I would never have caught anywhere near as many of both species. No brag, just the facts...and proof that if you want to say, attract deer, put our corn and apples, not hamburger, if you know what I mean.

A last point on swords. If you have fished for daytime fish extensively, or you know a stick boat guy who has, you know that they are basically blind when they first come up. Their huge, sensitive eyes take some time to adjust to the sunlight and so they instinctively swim in a tight circle in order to keep that deadly sword of theirs ready at all times for their biggest enemy, the mako shark. This is a great time to snag them by casting into the middle of the circle, locking up and letting the sword's sword or irretractable fins pick up the leader and allowing a big, extra kirbed hook to nail them.

I know how to do that, but don't like to: not so much because of sporting issues, but because snagged swords fight too long and the hook usually pulls, sooner or later. Our standard drill was to stand off and watch the fish until he came out of his circle, then keep following and watching them (they univerally swim up-current) and only baiting them after they quit swimming erratically and go straight, indicating to me at least that their vision was on and they could see the bait we then presented them with.

Jeez, I'm on a roll here and have probably put everybody to sleep. Sorry about that.

As far as lure color is concerned, many times I have posted what I believe to my core - although just like the effects of tide changes and such, I don't know the "why" - that I not only prefer black and dark or and white lures, I rig every single one of my personal ones upside down, with the light color on the top and the dark one on the bottom. I do this to make them stand out, so gamefish will see and target them for destruction, which is the predator's role in the sea, just as it is on land - "he who stands out dies". All black lures would be fine with me, but even as a lure manufacturer with many long term friends in the tackle industry, I can't find all-black ones. Fish would love them, but fishermen wouldn't, so they don't get made. Completely understandable.

And I don't fish with them much anymore, but when I did, I painted the bellies of all of my Marauder and Yo Zuri type swimming plugs black and I believe that they caught better that way. There are some subtle rigging tricks that we use on our hollow squid spreaderbars and Spiders that enhance the "color look" presented by the teasers as they are trolled that I also believe gets more bites. That, I don't talk about.

For the most part I have been considered a COB (Crazy Old *******) by those who I have given my color thoughts to, but there have been those who have adopted them and think that they have made a big difference in their catches. Whatever floats your boat.

I dunno. I might be wrong. And back when I did a lot of diving and taping of various lures being dragged over me, I saw that color just didn't matter until you were right on a lure, like at the last second, when there was no turning back for a striking fish. But admittedly, even though I was in the fish's element, I was seeing what I was seeing through human, not fish eyes. Could be a difference, I dunno for sure.

We humans do do too much assuming that what we see fish doing is the same as what we or they would be doing in air. There is a huge difference in the element they are operating in and ours. Just one of those things has to do with why marlin really have bills and what they are really doing back there when they are "window washing" lure after lure in the spread. Another subject for another time, perhaps.

Wallbanger of a subject and please add me to the list of those who you send copies of your report to. I for one will eat it up!

Some swory drawings and shots. "Duel" is from the novel, Grim Ripper. I do not sell the Cabo Tiger lures, or any standard lures for that matter.

[Anders]

thats some good stuff right there!