Currently, three swordfish (Xiphias gladius) stocks are considered to exist in the Atlantic Ocean and assessed separately by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT): North Atlantic, South Atlantic and Mediterranean. 

The three Atlantic swordfish stocks have been defined based on the deployment of tags and population genetics analyses (Braun et al. 2019). However, more research is needed since the boundary between north and south stocks may require revision and a potential population structure might be present within the North Atlantic (Braun et al. 2019).

The ICCAT swordfish biology program is a collaborative project between ICCAT Contracting Parties (CPCs). It aims to address life history uncertainties in the ICCAT swordfish assessments and management strategy evaluation (MSE). The program is currently in place and focuses on filling spatial-temporal gaps and analyzing samples for age and growth, reproduction, and stock differentiation (SCRS 2022)(ICCAT 2024).