Fish · Least Concern
Tuna
Thunnus albacares
About
The yellowfin tuna is a tuna species inhabiting the open, pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans around the world.
- Family
- Scombridae
- Avg size
- 150-200 cm
- Habitat
- This is an epipelagic fish, living in the mixed surface layer above the thermocline. Acoustic tracking shows that, unlike the related bigeye tuna, it mostly stays within the upper 100 m, though one study found its depth shifts with the time of day: 90 percent of recorded depths were shallower than 88 m at night and shallower than 190 m during daylight. It crosses the thermocline only rarely, but is capable of diving much deeper.
- Behaviour
- Although it favours deep offshore water, yellowfin tuna will move closer to land where conditions suit. Mid-ocean islands such as the Hawaiian chain, other western Pacific groups, the Caribbean, the Red Sea's Bab-el-Mandeb, Indonesia, the Maldives, and Atlantic outposts like Ascension and Saint Helena often hold yellowfin feeding on baitfish concentrated near shore. They may also push well inside the continental shelf when water temperature, clarity and food allow, and they commonly travel in schools made up of similarly sized fish.
Where & when
Where & When to See It
Shaab Sabina
commonApr–OctShabrur Um Gamar
commonApr–OctShag Rock (Kingston)
commonApr–OctSmall Giftun
commonApr–OctUmm Gamar North
commonApr–OctWoodhouse Reef
commonApr–OctSha'ab Sharm
commonApr–OctAbu Kifan
commonApr–OctBig Brother Island
commonApr–OctBig Giftun
commonApr–OctDaedalus Reef
commonApr–OctEl Fanadir
commonApr–OctElphinstone
commonApr–OctErg Somaya
commonApr–OctFury Shoals
commonApr–OctGordon Reef
commonApr–OctJackson Reef
commonApr–OctNumidia
commonApr–OctPanorama Reef
commonApr–OctRas Nasrani
commonApr–OctRocky Island
commonApr–OctAbu Nuhas
Hamda
Little Brother Island
Rosalie Moller
Ras Disha
Careless Reef