Re: Other than man what are the enemies or predators of sailfish?

Sailfish predators?

The first answer that springs to mind is George Clooney and the crew of 
the Andrew Gail...

Thinking this one through a little more, I can only think of large sharks 
attacking a school of sailfish.

Sailfish school. Like any other group/herd/congregation of animals, 
sick/old/slow animals in this group are easy to detect and to "weed out" 
by predators. Herd behaviour, especially in response to predators is a 
very interesting area of animal behaviour, and much has been written in 
journals on this topic. Try searching animal behaviour on-line at: http://www.academicpress.com/anbehav

Mako sharks are the most likely predators of these "decaying" sailfish - I 
honestly can't believe a mako would seek out and destroy a strong, healthy 
adult sailfish as they are a fearsome animal; especially with that weapon 
bolted on the end of their head! But, a healthy mako shark could certainly 
have a good go at a sailfish that is a little slower to react, to swim, to 
notice a shark following in the shadows...

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Alastair Lyon