The Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus Albacares

Yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares

Introduction: The yellowfin tuna, (Thunnus albacares) which is also called “Albacore” is an important commercial tuna species, particularly the raw sashimi market. They are the second tuna species in terms of volume and popularity. They are extremely fast swimmers and tend to aggregate in schools especially with fish of the same size as well as with various species of dolphins or porpoises. Yellowfin tuna, travel long distances. They have a life expectancy of about 8 years.

Distribution and habitats: The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide except for the Mediterranean Sea. They are mostly found in the top 100 m of the water column while

Some of the fish consumed include pilchard, anchovy, and mackerel. Moreover, the large yellowfins prey on smaller members of the tuna family including skipjack tuna. Their body shape and speedy swimming enable the bluefin tuna to pursue and capture fast-moving baitfish such as flying fish, sauries, and mackerel. Yellowfins locate their food by sight during daylight.

Predation: Yellowfin Tunas are eaten by a wide variety of predators. When they are newly hatched, they are eaten by other fishes that specialize on eating plankton. As they grow, they are preyed upon by pelagic hunters including large tunas, wahoo, sharks, billfish and seabirds. Adult Yellowfins are not preyed upon except by largest and fastest such as toothed whales, largest billfishes, and some open ocean shark species such as the “mako” and great white. In general, because yellowfins are strong swimmers, they can escape most

The world production of yellowfin tuna from capture fishery exceeded 1.3 million tons in 2015. Although pole-and-line is still in practice in some tuna fishery, the purse seiners account for most of the commercial catch. The purse-seine vessels may employ sophisticated methods including satellite data and/or helicopters overhead. In regard to longline fishery, most of its commercial catch is canned, whereas larger sashimi-grade of fish of 25 kg is of significant demand. Artisanal fishery sector employs trolling lines, surface and deep hand lines, and longlines. The artisanal sector often provides tuna for the lucrative sashimi market in many locations.

The quality of the catch determines whether qualifies for sashimi or sold in local markets or canned. Aquaculture: Unlike the significant aquaculture of bluefin tuna, the farming of yellowfin tuna has been done on experimental level and scattered initiatives. According to FAO statistics, the overall production from yellowfin tuna over a 10-year period (2005-2014) amounted 4714 tons with the peak of 2088 tons in 2007 declining to 3, 0, 0, 0, 38, 171, 61 and one tons in the years 2008 till 2015