Back during the National League Championship Series in October, some restaurateurs in Chicago thought it was cute to sell marlin.

As we know, the Cubs couldn't seem to catch the Marlins, despite the hundreds of Cubs fans who probably munched marlin meat. But the restaurant stunt brought to light a fish-management problem.

Yes, it's legal to sell marlin in restaurants, provided the fish are certified as being from the Pacific Ocean.

No, it's still not a good idea to sell Pacific marlin.

The Billfish Foundation and the International Game Fish Association have no-marlin-on-the-menu campaigns, which consist of finding restaurants that serve marlin (through conservation-minded anglers) and faxing them letters explaining the situation with marlin.

Fisheries biologists know marlin are overfished in the Atlantic. In the Pacific, they simply haven't studied marlin enough to know whether the population is healthy. Conservationists suspect there are similar problems with stocks of Pacific marlin because of the unintended harvest of marlin taken on longlines used to catch tuna and swordfish.

"It's a matter of concern, because a lot of the circumstances are similar," said Ken Hinman, president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation.

The Billfish Foundation, based in Fort Lauderdale, has sent more than 1,500 letters to restaurants in the past few years. About 22 percent have quit serving marlin after reading the letters, campaign coordinator Deborah Cummings said. Restaurants that quit serving marlin -- more than 300 of them, according to TBF -- receive a thank-you letter from the foundation.

The foundation also is working with charter captains in Hawaii, many of whom still regularly harvest marlin, said Ellen Peel, TBF president.

"We are seeing more release (of marlin), but Hawaii is very different," Peel said. "It's an educational process."

Peel and IGFA President Rob Kramer argue that allowing the sale of Pacific marlin blurs the distinctions between Pacific and Atlantic billfish and feeds the illegal, black-market sale of Atlantic marlin. The sale of Atlantic marlin has been prohibited since 1988.

"A substantial black market exists for marlin and sailfish taken illegally from the Atlantic and sold in restaurants and markets," Kramer writes in his no-marlin letter to restaurants. "This illicit activity is supported unknowingly by restaurants like yours. We ask that you reconsider your policy. Millions of fishermen will appreciate it."

To report a restaurant to TBF's No Marlin on the Menu campaign, call 1-800-438-8247 (Ext. 106) or e-mail deborah_cummings- @billfish.org.