Southern Bluefin Tuna

Synonym/common names:

Atlantic bluefin tuna, blue fin tuna, bluefin tunny, blue-fin tunny, northern bluefin tuna, and squid hound.

Names in different languages:

Netherlands: Blauwvin tonijn, Spain: Atún rojo, Italy: Tonno, Denmark: Blåfinnet tun, Germany: Atlantischer Thunfisch, Portugal: Atum-rabilho, France: Thon rouge de l’Atlantique, Japan: Kuromaguro, China: 金枪鱼.

Habitat:

Southern Bluefin tuna can you find throughout the southern hemisphere but mainly in waters between 30 and 50 degrees south but only rarely in the eastern Pacific. The only breeding areas that are known are in the Indian Ocean, south-east of Java and Indonesia.

Distinctive Features:

The Southern Bluefin tuna has an average speed of 2-3 km/hr. and they are known to dive to at least 500 meters depth. They can tolerate a wide range of water temperatures because of their advanced circulatory system which tends to keep the temperature of their body warmer than the surrounding water.

Coloration:

The body has a metallic deep blue color above, the lower sides and belly are silvery white. In fresh specimens alternating colorless lines and rows of dots can be seen along the lower sides of a Bluefin tuna. The first dorsal fin has a yellow or blue color; the second is red or brown. The anal fin and finlets are yellow, edged with black. The central caudal keel is black.

Size, Age, and Growth:

Southern Bluefin tuna grows more slowly than other tuna species and have a long life span, up to 40 years. Juveniles eat fish, squid, and crustaceans, and adults feed mainly on baitfish such as herring, bluefish, and mackerel. Sharks, marine mammals (including killer whales and pilot whales), and large fishes feed on bluefin tuna. Bluefish and seabirds also prey upon juvenile Bluefin tuna.

Reproduction:

Southern bluefin tuna reach reproductive maturity around 8 years old. The breeding takes place from September to April in warm waters south of Java. The juveniles migrate south down the west coast of Australia. During the summer months (December-April), they tend to congregate near the surface in the coastal waters off the southern coast of Australia and spend their winters in deeper, temperate oceanic waters. After age 5, they are seldom found in near shore surface waters.

Stock Status Bluefin Tuna

Conservation:

The Southern Bluefin tuna got 2011 listed under the category Critically Endangered in the International Union for the Consercation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) “red list”.

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