The test is needed to ensure that the blue marlin sold in U.S. seafood markets were not taken from the Atlantic Ocean. The import and sale of blue marlin from the Pacific or Indian oceans is legal in the U.S., while the marketing of Atlantic blues can bring civil or criminal penalties, including fines, seizure of a catch, or the loss of a fishing permit. Regulation of Atlantic blue marlin reflects overfishing and a troubling drop in population within Atlantic waters.

Genetic tests to determine the origin of blue marlin and other marine species are conducted by the Marine Forensics Program within NOAA's Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, South Carolina. The Center is part of the National Ocean Service's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.

Trey Knott, a forensic biologist responsible for testing blue marlin at the Charleston lab, says "our relationship with the researchers at VIMS has been invaluable. We wouldn't have been able to tackle an R&D project like this given the casework load in our lab, and the folks at VIMS bring a wealth of historical experience and knowledge of billfish."

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