Teleostei (teleosts) >
Scombriformes (Mackerels) >
Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Etymology: Thunnus: Greek, thynnos = tunna (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 50 m. Tropical; 20°C - ? (Ref. 168); 43°N - 28°S, 100°W - 26°W (Ref. 55290)
Western Atlantic: off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts south to Trinidad Island and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Ref. 168); including south of Brazil (Ref. 36453). Highly migratory.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 49.4 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 108 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 72.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168); max. published weight: 20.6 kg (Ref. 40637)
Found in oceanic waters, sometimes not far from the coast (Ref. 13628). Forms large mixed schools with the skipjack tuna. Its spawning grounds are located well offshore. Preys on surface and deep-sea fishes, squids, amphipods, shrimps, crabs and stomatopods and decapod larvae. The largest fishery for blackfin tuna operates off the southeastern coast of Cuba and uses live-bait and pole. Utilized fresh, dried or salted, canned and frozen (Ref. 9987).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p. (Ref. 168)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 10 - 20.5, mean 14.4 °C (based on 163 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01148 (0.00693 - 0.01903), b=3.05 (2.91 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.22; tm=3; tmax=5).
Prior r = 0.77, 95% CL = 0.51 - 1.16, Based on 1 data-limited stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): High to very high vulnerability (75 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 48.4 [26.7, 111.0] mg/100g; Iron = 2.86 [1.11, 6.97] mg/100g; Protein = 22.9 [21.4, 24.3] %; Omega3 = 0.31 [0.19, 0.52] g/100g; Selenium = 84.5 [27.1, 268.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 69.2 [9.8, 534.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.59 [0.31, 1.14] mg/100g (wet weight);
