Pelagic Gladiator: A Brief History of Atlantic Swordfishing

SWORD! Cried the Mastheader from his perch high above the swaying schooner as he looked below at the silhouette of a 15-foot swordfish in cobalt blue waters near the edge of the Gulf Stream. Then all hell broke loose as the striker ran forward then out into the "stand" on the bowsprit some 30 feet forward of the schooner's stem. He raised his harpoon and peered at the ocean Gladiator slowly undulating 10 feet below him in the crystalline water. He swam slowly unaware of the fate that awaited him. Then at just the right moment, the striker thrust his harpoon down into the back of the unsuspecting quarry and when the dart hit home, the mighty fish bolted and sounded for deep water trying to lose the dart and evade the hunter. It was exhilarating but dangerous. Despite this danger, the striker knew he had successfully darted another of the prized swordfish.
This was the action along the south coast of New England and on Georges Bank in the summer months for more than 100 years as stalwart New England and Canadian swordfishermen hunted the powerful, unpredictable Xiphias gladius, the Atlantic swordfish. It was an exciting and lucrative trade that rewarded the skipper and crew handsomely in terms of excitement and remuneration. In this treatise, we trace this fishery from its ancient beginnings along the coast of Maine by Indigenous people some 5000 years ago through its commercial beginnings aboard the late 19th century schooners to the modern-day steel longliners that land an annual swordfish catch worth 30 million dollars. We have borrowed from many sources and old reports to recount the technical and human story of this fascinating fish and fishery.