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Indo-Pacific Sailfish

Indo-Pacific Sailfish line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Indo-Pacific Sailfish full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Indo-Pacific Sailfish was completed on 5.12.11. While I've never seen these in the wild, I did see a documentary on these amazing fish a few years back, and after that I decided I needed to draw one. I know that these fish are greatly prized by fishermen, but I hope that one day rather than simply catching these animals for sport, people leave them in the ocean to live out their lives and be a wonder to everyone. The drawing is based on a photo by Alastair Pollock.

Information about the Indo-Pacific Sailfish:

Indo-Pacific Sailfish are members of the order Perciformes. They are native to the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their large, sharp bills are used for hunting (it is sometimes called the 'bayonet fish') and the use of the large, characteristic 'sail' fin is not fully understood by biologists. It might be used to cool and warm the fish as the fin has many blood vessels in it. Sailfish are some of the fastest fish in the sea, and are extremely agile with amazing bursts of speed. They are large fish, growing to 12-15 feet in length. Sailfish live in the open or pelagic zones of the ocean. They feed on schooling fishes such as herring and sardines.