Tuna Facts

Longfin Albacore Tuna

This article contains an assortment of information about tuna species including Atlantic bluefin, skipjack, yellowfin, and longfin albacore.

Western Atlantic bluefin tuna are the largest of the Atlantic tuna species. They can grow up to 13 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

Bluefin have a lifespan of 20 years or more, and generally don’t spawn until they are 8 years old.

On May 27, 2011, NOAA announced that Atlantic bluefin tuna currently do not warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act.

In 2011, an angler set a North Carolina state record for Atlantic bluefin tuna by catching an 805 pound, 8 ounce fish off Oregon Inlet.

Also in 2011, a North Carolina state record blackfin tuna was caught off Wrightsville Beach.

A bluefin tuna tagged by Captain Al Anderson was recaptured after 16 years.

Pacific bluefin tuna are the largest species of tuna in the Pacific. Adults can reach nearly 10 feet in length and 990 pounds, with an average lifespan of 15 years.

In 2025, Marc Spagnola was recognized as the new Maryland state record holder for longfin albacore (Thunnus alalunga) for the Atlantic Division. Spagnola’s 78-pound catch exceeded the previous record for longfin albacore set in 2004 by four pounds.

Longfin albacore have torpedo-shaped bodies, high metabolism, and other traits that allow them to swim at approximately 50 miles per hour. Longfins are migratory fish that travel in schools throughout the Atlantic Ocean.

Yellowfin tuna are distinguishable from other tunas by their long, yellow dorsal fin and a yellow stripe along their sides.

Yellowfin tuna are fast-growing and can weigh up to 400 pounds.

Skipjack tuna are identified by stripes along their lower body, and a faint lateral line running lengthwise down each side. Their back is dark purplish blue.

Skipjack tuna grow fast and can weigh up to 40 pounds. They have a relatively short life span of around 7 years.

2013 USA Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Landings

NOAA Fisheries recently released its final landings numbers for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna As of December 31, 2013.

U.S. fishermen landed a total of 5518 Atlantic bluefin tuna, weighing 518.3 metric tons (mt).

The following is a summary by category:

General        1801
Harpoon        121
Longline    299
Trap        0
Purse Seine    192
Angling        3105
Reserve        0

Dead discards totaled 205.8 mt. The United States accounts for dead discards annually in the quota specifications and reports them to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

According to NOAA Fisheries, the final 2012 dead discards estimate (205.8 mt) was used because 2013 dead discard estimates are not yet available.

The final 2013 Atlantic bluefin tuna specifications (78 FR 36685, June 19, 2013) adjusted the 2013 base quota and subquotas to account for 2012 underharvest and accounted for half of the estimated dead discards at the beginning of the year, with the remainder to be accounted for at year-end.

For more information, visit:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/hmsdocument_files/Tuna.htm

source: NOAA Fisheries

Bluefin Tuna Tag Recoveries

Captain Al Anderson, a charter boat captain out of Point Judith, Rhode Island, participates in the NOAA Fisheries Cooperative Tagging Program. One Capt. Anderson's tagged bluefin tuna was recently recaptured after 16 years.

That bluefin weighed a mere 14 pounds when Anderson caught it in the Mudhole east/southeast of Block Island in 1997. When a Nova Scotia fisherman recaptured it late last year, it weighed more than 1,200 pounds.

Anderson started tagging 45 years ago when he was a graduate student in fisheries biology at the University of Rhode Island.

Bluefin tuna that Anderson tagged have been recaptured off the coasts of Turkey and France. Anderson once recaptured a bluefin off Rhode Island that had been tagged ten days earlier near New Orleans, at least 1,600 miles away.

Over the years, Anderson and his charter clients have tagged tens of thousands of striped bass, almost five thousand bluefin, and 1500 sharks.

NOAA provides fishermen with tags to put on fish they catch and release, including highly migratory species like tunas, sailfish, and marlin. After tagging a fish, they send the tag number to NOAA Fisheries, along with date, location, length and weight.

If the fish is recaptured, the fisherman can read the number and call it in. That allows scientists to track migration patterns and estimate growth and mortality rates for these species.

Conventional tags provide snapshots of data when the fish is tagged and again when it’s recaptured. For a more detailed picture, scientists also deploy PSATs— pop-up satellite archival tags.

Pop-up satellite archival tags provide a huge amount of data on habitat preference, movement, and diving behavior, but because they’re costly there’s only so many of them.

Conventional tags provide less data per tag, but fishermen with the Cooperative Tagging Program have put them on roughly 270,000 fish of almost 80 different species since the program began in 1954.

More Information

Fishermen and tournament operators can get free tags and tagging kits by contacting NOAA’s Cooperative Tagging Center: http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/species/fish/tagging.htm

source: NOAA Fisheries