Definitely a White!
Glenn,
The photo you posted is great...and it clearly shows that it is a WHITE marlin. Congrats, whites are actually IMO a rarer catch in Texas than blues. I've never caught a white!! - just blues and stripes (and I think maybe had a black on).
The accepted species of billfish are Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, White Marlin, Striped Marlin, Spearfish (three sub-species: Longbill, Shortbill, and Mediterraean), sailfish (altantic and pacific), and Swordfish.
Here's some identification tips: First, in the Gulf/Atlantic, you'll find only blues, whites, and spearfish. There are no blacks or stripes in the Gulf/Atlantic...those species are found strictly in the Pacific. There's many folks who claim to have seen or caught blacks in the Gulf/Atlantic, but in every case that can be tracked down, it turned out to be a (big/fat) blue.
There are reports of whites being caught in the Pacific, and there may be something to that...although rare. The reason is that genetic identification between whites and stripes seem to be in some tests - identical. This leads to the speculation that white and stripes are the same fish (even though the record for white is under 150 lbs, but stripes are commonly caught between 200-400 lbs) - but other tests show a very slight difference in one chromozone pair. Also, the genetic makeup of spearfish seems to be awfully close to whites and stripes as well. In fact, there's some speculation that these species are so close that white, stripes, and spearfish can interbreed and that any combination may occur. Moreover, I read one report that gave convincing evidence that spearfish and/or whites are actually a crossbreed and not a separate species.
To further add to the confusion, there are numerous folks that are convinced there is another undocumented species of marlin - the "silver" or "hatchet" marlin. More on that later....
Back to identification. You really can't go by color... All species exhibit color variations that overlap and can border on the extreme to riduculous. So here's the best ID rules I've found, and appear pretty accurate.
First, the swordfish is a no-brainer. The bill is flat, and usually about half the length of the body. The eye is large...Swords are pretty easy to distinguish.
Second, the black marlin has pectoral fins that are fixed..they cannot be folded flat against the body. In addition, there are no "belly" fins - only the pectorals. This makes the black also easy to identify (and easy to debunk those claiming to have hooked or caught blacks in the gulf). They have a large head compared to the body and the eye/mouth "face" seems small. Also a big reason why most folks over-estimate the size of a black.
Third, the blue marlin's dorsal fin height is always considerably less than the height of it's body (from top of the back to the belly). It looks small when compared to depth (height) of the body. This is the easiest, surest way to tell. Also, when blues start to get big, they get a "small-faced" look, the same as blacks. Novices often mistake a large or fat blue for a black.
Fourth, whites and striped marlin's dorsal fins are tall - as tall or taller than their body depth. Your photo clearly shows a tall dorsal and therefore easy to confirm it's a white. Striped marlin commonly have spots on their fins, whites do too. Presence of spots is confirmation of a stripe or white (or maybe a spearfish), but absence of spots is not. Many whites or stripes have no spots. Good rule of thumb between stripes and whites - if you caught it in the Pacific, it's a stripe - in the Atlantic, it's a white.
Fifth, spearfish are virtually identical to whites/stripes but with a much smaller, stouter bill. However, be warned...several spearfish records have been denied when it was discovered it was really a white/stripe with a deformed bill.
Lastly, we come to the fabled "silver" or "hatchet" marlin. Every year a few fish that look like the typical white or stripe are caught with a strange-looking dorsal. It's large like a white or stripe, but instead of sloping smooth downward from the initial point, it stays the same height for awhile (like the start of sailfish), before making the traditional marlin plunge. This makes the fin look somewhat like the blade of a hatchet.
To date, the existance of this species has not been proven. All documented genetic samples submitted have turned out to be white marlin. But here's where it gets strange. Few samples have been provided - and none from those pictures that show the fish with a clear "hatchet". Secondly, several of the "hatchets" samples submitted were caught in the Pacific - where there's not suppose to be whites - leading some biologist to back off on their position that there are no whites in the Pacific. Thirdly, in at least one report I read a genetic sample was "confirmed" to be a sailfish - even though the photo of the fish was clearly a marlin (although eyewitnesses reported the boat caught several sails that day as well). Sooo...believe in "hatchet" marlin as you will. They may a undocumented species, a cross between white/stripes/sailfish, or purely a hopeful myth.
Hope this clears up identification for you!
-john
