Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii)

Scientific name: Thunnus maccoyii Castelnau, 1872

The Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) is a marine fish of the family Scombridae. In the aquarium it needs water at 5–20°C (41–68°F).

Southern bluefin tuna care at a glance

Temperature: 5–20°C (41–68°F)

Biology

By maturity, most southern bluefin tuna lead an oceanic, pelagic existence. Spawning fish and larvae are encountered in waters with surface temperatures between 20? and 30?C. An opportunistic feeder, preying on a wide variety of fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods, salps, and other marine animals. Mostly canned. A specialized fishery for sashimi-quality has been developed recently by New Zealand fishers. In Japan, it is highly prized for the sashimi markets.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Thunnus maccoyii
Family: Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 245
Common length: 160
Depth range: 50–2743 m (164–8999 ft)
Environment: Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous; depth range 50 - 2743 m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: temperate and cold seas, mainly between 30?S and 50?S, to nearly 60?S. During spawning, large fish migrate to tropical seas, off the west coast of Australia, up to 10?S. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. If the current exploitation continues, the population will be below 500 mature individuals in 100 years.
Conservation status (IUCN): Critically Endangered (CR) (A1bd)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.14-0.15; tm=8-9; tmax=20; Fec=14 million)

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026