Atlantic bluefin tuna
📖 Overview
Oceanic but seasonally coming close to shore. They school by size, sometimes together with albacore, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack etc. Visual predators preying on small schooling fishes (anchovies, sauries, hakes) or on squids and red crabs. Live up to 40 years in the western Atlantic . Weight up to 900 kg . Eggs and larvae are pelagic . Juvenile growth is rapid (about 30 cm / year) but slower than in other tuna and billfish species . Adult growth is considerably slower, with about 10 years needed to reach two thirds of maximum length. Become rare because of massive overfishing .
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 16; Vertebrae: 39. A very large species, deepest near the middle of the first dorsal fin base. The second dorsal fin higher than the first; the pectoral fins are very short, less than 80% of head length. Swim bladder present. Lower sides and belly silvery white with colorless transverse lines alternated with rows of colorless dots. The first dorsal fin is yellow or bluish; the second reddish-brown; the anal fin and finlets dusky yellow and edged with black; the median caudal keel is black in adults. May be confused with several other tunas, these are typically much smaller and easily distinguished by specific patterns of stripes, bands or dots. : fusiform / normal; Cross section: oval.
🌀 Behaviour
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are endothermic (warm-blooded), allowing them to operate in cold waters where other tuna cannot. They are among the fastest fish in the ocean, capable of speeds over 70 km/h. They undertake transatlantic migrations, with some individuals crossing from North America to the Mediterranean within weeks.
🦐 Diet
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are voracious predators feeding on herring, mackerel, squid, bluefish, and virtually any prey they can catch. Large adults have few natural predators other than orcas and great white sharks.
🥚 Reproduction
Oviparous batch spawner, with an inter-spawning interval of 1-2 days in the Mediterranean Sea . Females larger than 205 cm fork length are estimated to have a mean fecundity of 30-60 and 13-15 million eggs, in the western and eastern Atlantic respectively. Spawning occurs when sea surface temperatures are between 22.6-27.5 ºC and 22.5-25.5 ºC in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea respectively (88868). Spawning occurs between June and August in the Mediterranean Sea . Eggs are released directly to the water column and hatch after 2 days . At 24°C, embryo development lasts about 32 hours and larval stages about 30 days. Egg size 1.0 mm, larval length at hatching 2.8 mm. Spawning grounds are mainly known from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, but the presence of mature individuals and larvae far from these areas (e.g. Bahamas and central North Atlantic Ocean) suggest that other spawning grounds may also be utilized. Appears to display homing behaviour with (western-tagged individuals migrating back to specific spawning sites either in the Gulf of Mexico or the Mediterranean Sea). Fidelity to natal areas seem to occur once individuals reach maturity, i.e. after returning to either the western or eastern spawning grounds .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous ; depth range 0 - 985 m , usually 0 - 100 m. Subtropical; 3°C - 30°C ; 69°N - 58°S, 99°W - 42°E South Africa.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🍽️ Edibility & Flavour
"Atlantic bluefin tuna is prized for its firm, flavourful flesh and outstanding eating quality."
- Clear, bright eyes — cloudy eyes indicate age
- Firm flesh that springs back when pressed
- Fresh ocean smell, never strong or ammonia-like
- Bright red or pink gills, not grey or brown
- Shiny, moist skin with scales tightly attached
- Cloudy or sunken eyes
- Strong fishy or ammonia odour
- Soft, mushy flesh that doesn't spring back
- Discoloured or dry flesh
⚡ Nutrition
Per 100g cooked — Source: USDA FoodData Central
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 144 kcal |
| Protein | 24.2 g |
| Total Fat | 5 g |
| Omega-3 (total) | 393 mg |
| EPA | 362 mg |
| DHA | 1,083 mg |
🔬 Mercury Safety
🌿 Sustainability
🏆 World Records
| Record Type | Value | Angler | Location | Date | Line Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 678.58 kg | Ken Fraser | Aulds Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada | 26 Oct 1979 | All-Tackle |
Source: IGFA All-Tackle World Records database
🌐 Names & Taxonomy
| Language | Common Names |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧English | Atlantic Bluefin Tuna · Atlantic bluefin tuna, Northern bluefin tuna, Blue-fin tunny · Blue Fin Tuna · Blue-fin Tunny · Bluefin Tuna · Bluefin Tunny · Horse Mackerel · Northern Bluefin Tuna · Southern Bluefin Tuna · Squid Hound · Tuna · Tunny · blue-fin tuna |
| 🌍BRE | toun rhû |
| 🏳️Catalan | tonyina |
| 🌍CES | tuňák obecný |
| 🌍CYM | Tiwnaod · tiwna |
| 🇩🇰Danish | Atlantisk tun · Blåfinnet tun · Blåfinnet tunfisk · Tun · Tunfisk |
| 🇩🇪German | Atlantischer blauflossen Thun · Blauflossenthunfisch · Nordatlantischer Thun · Roter Thun · Thunfisch · großer Thun · roter Thunfisch |
| 🌍ELL | Ερυθρός ή Κυανόπτερος τόννος · Ερυθρός τόννος |
| 🇫🇮Finnish | Tonnikala |
| 🇫🇷French | Thon rouge · Thon rouge de l'Atlantique, Thon rouge · Thon rouge du nord · thon rouge de l'Atlantique |
| 🌍GLE | An tuinnín |
| 🌍GLG | atún vermello |
| 🌍HEB | טונה אלבקור · טונה כחולה |
| 🇭🇷Croatian | Tunj |
| 🌍ISL | Túnfiskur |
| 🇮🇹Italian | Musciame de tonno · Tonno · tonno rosso |
| 🇯🇵Japanese | Kuromaguro |
| 🌍LIT | paprastasis tunas |
| 🌍MLT | Tonn · Tonnu · Tunnagg (young) |
| 🇳🇱Dutch | Atlantische blauwvintonijn · Atlantische tonijn · Noordelijke blauwvintonijn · Tonijn · blauwvintonijn |
| 🌍NNO | makrellstørje · størje |
| 🌍NOB | makrellstørje · størje |
| 🇳🇴Norwegian | Makrellshørje · Makrellstørje · Sjorje · Thunfisk · Tunfisk |
| 🇵🇱Polish | Ton · Tunczyk blekitnopletwy · orkinos · tunczyk · tuńczyk błękitnopłetwy · tuńczyk czerwony · tuńczyk niebieskopłetwy · tuńczyk północny · tuńczyk zwykły |
| 🇵🇹Portuguese | Atum · Atum-azul · Atum-rabilho · Bluefin tuna · Mochama · rabio |
| 🌍RON | Ton · Ton rosu |
| 🇷🇺Russian | tunets · Тунец голубой антлантический |
| 🌍SLV | modroplavuti tun |
| 🌍SME | dutna · dutnaguolli |
| 🇪🇸Spanish | Atún · Atún rojo · atún aleta azul · atún común · atún de aleta azul del Atlántico |
| 🌍SQI | Toni |
| 🌍SRP | Tun |
| 🇸🇪Swedish | Makrillstörje · Röd tonfisk · Tonfisk · blåfenad tonfisk · tuna |
| 🌍TUR | Orkinos · mavi yuzgecli orkinos · ton baligi · ton balığı |
| 🌍UKR | Тунець · Тунець блакитний · Тунець блакитний атлантичний · Тунець звичайний · Тунець звичайний атлантичний · звичайний тунець · тунець синiй |
Scientific Synonyms
| Scientific Name | Author | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ? secundodorsalis | Storer | 1853 | Synonym |
| Albacora thynnus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
| Orcynus secondidorsalis | Storer | 1853 | Synonym |
| Orcynus thynnus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
| Scomber thynnus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
| Thunnus secundodorsalis | Storer | 1853 | Synonym |
| Thunnus thynnus thynnus | — | — | Synonym |
| Thunnus vulgaris | Cuvier | 1832 | Synonym |
| Thunus secundodorsalis | Storer | 1853 | Synonym |
| Thynnus linnei | Malm | 1877 | Synonym |
| Thynnus mediterraneus | Risso | 1827 | Synonym |
| Thynnus secundo-dorsalis | Storer | 1853 | Synonym |
| Thynnus thynnus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
| Thynnus vulgaris | Cuvier | 1832 | Synonym |
📖 Related Articles
🔍 Similar Species
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) — 54 records indexed .
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