Bluefin Tuna
Thunnus thynnus
|
Aquaculture Potential
|
|
Opportunity
|
Constraints
|
- Successfully spawned in Japan
- Eat artificial feed
- Fast growth
- Have been raised in floating pens (Iversen and Hale 1992)
|
- Feeds are expensive
- Lack mature eggs in rearing trials
- High mercury levels have hurt some markets (Iversen and Hale 1992)
|
|
In-depth Information Regarding this Species
| U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean |
Alaska to Southern California
Common south of Santa Barbara (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Habitat |
At or near surface (Love 1996)
Open ocean
Inshore and offshore (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Behavior |
School with Albacore, Yellowfin tuna, Bigeye tuna, Pacific bonito, Skipjack tuna, Yellowtail (Love 1996) |
| Average Maximum Overall Length (cm) |
198.1 (Love 1996)
Usually 188 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Average Maximum weight (kg) |
4.5–20 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
58.4/1 and 4.54 kg
109.2/3 and 27.24 kg
160.0/5 and 81.72 kg (Love 1996)
213.3/3 (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Overall Maximum Age (years) |
9+ (Love 1996) |
| Age when Harvested (years) |
2–3 (fish taken off US coast) (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Overall Age at Maturity (years) |
5–6 (Love 1996)
4–5 (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Fecundity |
10,000,000 per year (Love 1996) |
| Spawning Habitat |
Spawn between Japan, Philippines, Hawaii (Love 1996) |
| Time of Year of Spawning |
April–August
Later further north (Love 1996) |
| Adult Food Preference |
Anchovies, Sauries, Hake, Squid, Pelagic Red Crabs
Individuals in shallow water eat Sanddab, White Croaker, Perches, Sea Stars (Love 1996) |
| Commercial Fishery |
"Large" (Love 1996)
Commercial fishery (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Market |
High market price (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Parasites or Disease |
Bacterial, Parasitic, and Nutritional diseases (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Additional Remarks |
Maximum speed 50 mph (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed |
Nova Scotia
Japan (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(Data includes all tuna from the family Scombridae except Albacore)
|
Year
|
Total Catch
(Pounds)
|
Ex-vessel Value
( U.S. Dollars)
|
|
1989
|
0
|
0
|
|
1990
|
0
|
0
|
|
1991
|
0
|
0
|
|
1992
|
0
|
0
|
|
1993
|
0
|
0
|
|
1994
|
0
|
0
|
|
1995
|
1,370
|
746
|
|
1996
|
981
|
1,156
|
|
1997
|
2,254
|
4,164
|
|
1998
|
5,920
|
15,480
|
