Scientific Name
Thunnus thynnus

Common Name
Atlantic bluefin tuna

Biology
Oceanic but seasonally coming close to shore and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. They school by size, sometimes together with albacore, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack etc. Prey on small schooling fishes (anchovies, sauries, hakes) or on squids and red crabs. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Commercially cultured in Japan. Utilized fresh for sashimi, also canned (Ref. 9988). Become rare because of massive overfishing (Ref. 35388).

Classification

Classified By

Linnaeus, 1758

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Mackerels, tunas, bonitos (Scombridae)

Distribution

Region

Western Atlantic

Distribution

Western Atlantic: Canada, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea to Venezuela and Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Lofoten Islands off Norway to Canary Islands, including the Mediterranean and the southern part of the Black Sea (Ref. 6769). Reported from Mauritania (Ref. 5377). There is a subpopulation off South Africa. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).

Range

72°N - 58°S, 99°W - 42°E

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

985 m

Zone

pelagic-oceanic

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 985 m (Ref. 55291), usually 0 - 100 m

Trophic Level

4.43 s.e. 0.78 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

458 cm

Common Length

200 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5039 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

Very high vulnerability (86 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.05-0.06; tm=3-5; tmax=15; Fec=10 million)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Data deficient (DD)