SUMMARY OF SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius) RECAPTURES CARRIED OUT BY THE SPANISH SURFACE LONGLINE FLEET IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: 1984-2002.

A total of 66 swordfish (Xiphias gladius) specimens were recovered during the 1984-2002 period from the fishing areas of the Atlantic Ocean. These recaptures were reported to the Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia. Almost all of the recaptures were submitted by the commercial Spanish surface longline fleet, with the exception of one tag, which was reported by the U.S. fleet. The origin of the recaptures may be broken down as follows: 11 came from swordfishes tagged by the Spanish surface longline fleet (a recapture rate of 0.33%), 8 from swordfishes tagged by the scientific staff of the IEO during tagging surveys (a recapture rate of 6.11%) and 47 recaptures pertained to swordfishes tagged by other countries. A total of 7 tags came from fishes tagged and recaptured in the South Atlantic (South of 10o South). In spite of the small increase seen in the number of fishes tagged and recaptured in the North East Atlantic, complex exchanges are already being inferred between areas at the level of the North Atlantic. Moreover, the data available do not suggest any trans-equatorial movements. RESUME