150 GIANT FISHES 



blue on the back and silvery on the belly, with faint traces of 

 pale stripes on the sides ; the soft dorsal and the anal fin, as 

 well as the finlets, are lemon yellow, and the other fins are 

 more or less dark. 



Grow to a much smaller size than the Tunnies, rarely 

 exceeding a length of 3 or 4 feet and a weight of 65 lb. 



Two species are recognized, but these are so very similar 

 in appearance that it is open to question whether they are 

 really distinct. The Atlantic Albacore (G. alalunga), which 

 is also known as the Long-finned Tunny or Alalunga, is a rare 

 visitor to the British Isles, and occasionally gets as far north 

 as the Orkneys. The other species is the Pacific Albacore 

 (G. germo), which is especially abundant on the coast of 

 California, at Hawaii, and in Japan. 



The Albacores, like the Tunnies, which they resemble both 

 in appearance and habits, are essentially warm-water fishes, 

 living mainly close to the surface in the open sea. They favour 

 a mixed diet of crustaceans, cuttlefishes and small fishes of 

 all kinds, the latter predominating, and they play havoc 

 among the shoals of flying-fishes. 



The flesh is said to be inferior to that of the Tunnies, and 

 the Albacores are not much valued as food. In parts of 

 Japan, however, the natives eat it raw, and in California and 

 Hawaii it is now extensively canned, along with other Mackerel- 

 like fishes, and marketed under the general name of " Tuna ". 

 The Albacore is common in the Mediterranean, and was well 

 known as a food-fish to the ancient Greeks and Romans, being 

 depicted on coins, vases, fish-plates, mosaics, etc., as early as 

 500 or 600 B.C. 



In Japan these fishes are caught mainly by means of long lines 

 or drift-nets, and in California the fishermen employ baited 

 hooks. Another method of fishing is used in California, however, 

 which is known locally as the " bonito method ". No bait is 

 employed, and the fishermen line one side of their vessel with 

 rods and lines. The fish make a dash for the shining hooks, 

 and, by a dexterous movement, the fishermen lift them from 

 the water and throw them backwards into the centre of the 

 boat. If the fish are too large for one man to handle, two men 

 connect their lines together, and fish with two rods and one 

 hook. These heavier fish are spoken of as " Two-men Tuna ". 



