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Thunnus obesus  (Lowe, 1839)

Bigeye tuna
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Thunnus obesus
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Niue country information

Common names: Bigeye tuna, Hakua
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 3804.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ne.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Тунец большеглазый, Thon obèse, Patudo, ... more

Main reference

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen. 1983. (Ref. 168)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 250 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27000); common length : 180 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168); max. published weight: 210.0 kg (Ref. 9987); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 30326)

Length at first maturity
 Lm ?, range 100 - 125 cm

Environment

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 250 m (Ref. 168), usually 0 - 50 m (Ref. 89423)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 13°C - 29°C (Ref. 168), preferred 27°C (Ref. 107945); 45°N - 43°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in tropical and subtropical waters. Absent in the Mediterranean. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 14; Vertebrae: 39. A large species, deepest near the middle of the first dorsal fin base. Lower sides and belly whitish; a lateral iridescent blue band runs along the sides in live specimens. The first dorsal fin is deep yellow, the second dorsal and anal fins are light yellow, the finlets are bright yellow edged with black.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in areas where water temperatures range from 13°-29°C, but the optimum is between 17° and 22°C. Variation in occurrence is closely related to seasonal and climatic changes in surface temperature and thermocline. Juveniles and small adults school at the surface in mono-species groups or mixed with other tunas, may be associated with floating objects. Adults stay in deeper waters (Ref. 5377). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6390). Feed on a wide variety of fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans during the day and at night (Ref. 9340). Meat is highly prized and processed into sashimi in Japan. Marketed mainly canned or frozen (Ref. 9684), but also sold fresh (Ref. 9340).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5039 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 4.5   ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.11-0.23; tm=3; tmax=11; Fec=2 million)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 High vulnerability (56 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Very high