White and Hatchet Marlin/Roundscale Spearfish Side by Side

[MarlinHunter03]

Ok, now for the white... Look at the total lack of stripes on the body of all three of these fish and the amount of brown around their lateral line. Is it definitive? Probably not, but my gut says it's a pretty good guide. Maybe they can be identified boat side after all?

[Patudo]

Hatchet/Roundscale and White are different species that look very alike. Just like leopard and jaguar, Herring gull vs Lesser black-backed gull, Pantropical vs Atlantic spotted dolphin, Northern bluefin vs Southern bluefin and so on. Actually the white "marlin" and also the striped marlin are in the same family (Tetrapturus) as the longbill, shortbill, Mediterranean and our new buddy the roundscale spearfish. I sometimes think it might be more accurate to call them the white spearfish and the striped spearfish!

[fat2na.com]

OK, so if a white and a hatchet are different species. Do the rules of, let's say, the WMO dictate that a hatchet marlin is a qualifying fish for the "largest white" category and subsequently the big money? Bottom line, I'm just trying to find out if the largest fish in the white marlin category is actually a hatchet marlin it qualifies for the largest white calcutta. If that's the case maybe the name of the tournament should be something different and if the second place fish is a true white, and the prize money is close to 7 figures for the largest which is a hatchet, does the second place team have a legitimate cause to be upset?
Kind of redundant, I know, but I just want this to be crystal when I explain it to a few people that had the same question. Thanks and sorry for beating a dead horse.

[Fritz]

Kurt:

I believe you are correct. Also, the tail fins on the Hatchet do not appear to be nearly as long as the White's. Anyway, I tried to tell the guys at the scales, and righfully so, that our Beach Haven fish was a true White, but they kept trying to convince me that is was a Hatchet.

It doesn't really matter in the end. Because of the difficulty of indentification, I believe tournaments will be considering a Hatchet a White for the foreseeable future.

[ais24]

OK, so if a white and a hatchet are different species. Do the rules of, let's say, the WMO dictate that a hatchet marlin is a qualifying fish for the "largest white" category and subsequently the big money? Bottom line, I'm just trying to find out if the largest fish in the white marlin category is actually a hatchet marlin it qualifies for the largest white calcutta. If that's the case maybe the name of the tournament should be something different and if the second place fish is a true white, and the prize money is close to 7 figures for the largest which is a hatchet, does the second place team have a legitimate cause to be upset?
Kind of redundant, I know, but I just want this to be crystal when I explain it to a few people that had the same question. Thanks and sorry for beating a dead horse.

Rule # 22. from the mid atlantic $500,000: "For the purpose of identification, a hatchet marlin will be considered a white marlin."

[livetofishnj]

The same goes for the WMO, White Marlin and Roundscale Spearfish are considered the same for scoring.

There seem to be lots of little things like the fins, the scales, the color, the lateral line etc. but I have to say that if you can get a look at the rear end it's pretty clear.

[livetofishnj]

Kurt:

I believe you are correct. Also, the tail fins on the Hatchet do not appear to be nearly as long as the White's. Anyway, I tried to tell the guys at the scales, and righfully so, that our Beach Haven fish was a true White, but they kept trying to convince me that is was a Hatchet.

I showed the photos to the people from VIMS and elsewhere while we were at the WMO and they were pretty confident it was a white. Same photos as I posted above...