Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Scientific name: Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus, 1758

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Scombridae.

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. Commercially cultured in Japan. Utilized fresh for sashimi, also canned. Become rare because of massive overfishing.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Thunnus thynnus
Family
Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
458
Common length
200
Depth range
0–985 m (0–3232 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 985 m, usually 0 - 100 m
Climate
Subtropical
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. Reported from Mauritania. There is a subpopulation off South Africa. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Data deficient (DD)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.05-0.06; tm=3-5; tmax=15; Fec=10 million)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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