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Thunnus orientalis  (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)

Pacific bluefin tuna
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Thunnus orientalis
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United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Ahi, Bluefin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Hart, J.L., 1973
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Occurs on the Pacific coast. Rare north of Point Conception, California. Important commercial and game fish in California (Ref. 6885).
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
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

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 300 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9340); common length : 200 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9340); max. published weight: 450.0 kg (Ref. 47525); max. reported age: 15 years (Ref. 83312)

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 200 m (Ref. 58302)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred 27°C (Ref. 107945); 52°N - 50°S, 112°E - -77°W

Distribution

North Pacific: Gulf of Alaska to southern California and Baja California and from Sakhalin Island in the southern Sea of Okhotsk south to northern Philippines. There are four substantiated records of this subspecies in the southern hemisphere: off Western Australia, southeast Pacific (37°11'S, 114°41'W) and Gulf of Papua (Ref. 10997). The species occurs mainly in the northern Pacific but ventures into New Zealand waters for at least three months during spring and early summer (Ref. 83312).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Mean number of gill rakers 35.9. First ventrally directed parapophysis on vertebra number 8. Dorsal wall of body cavity has a narrow bulge with lateral concavity and wide lateral trough. Caudal keels dark.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Epipelagic, usually oceanic, but seasonally coming close to shore (Ref. 168). Tolerates ample temperature intervals (Ref. 168). Forms schools by size, sometimes with other scombrids (Ref. 168). Migrates between June and September in a northward direction along the coast of Baja California, Mexico and California (Ref. 168). A voracious predator that feeds on a wide variety of small schooling fishes and squids, also on crabs crabs and to a lesser degree on sessile organisms (Ref. 168). Marketed fresh and frozen.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

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Internet sources

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   ±0.3 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3-5; tmax=15; K=0.1-0.2)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Very high vulnerability (76 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Very high