346 Bluefin Tuna 



Color: Steel blue above; silvery white on lower sides and 

 belly. Upper sides marked with irregular oblique bands 

 sloping from the top edge of the back toward the head. 

 Distribution: Occurs in the warmer waters of all oceans. 

 In the western Atlantic it straggles as far north as Cape 

 Cod. 



Size: Reaches a length of about IV2 feet. 

 General Information: Often occurs in large schools off- 

 shore. It feeds on fish. 



Economic Importance: The Little Tuna is not an impor- 

 tant commercial species. It is frequently taken by the angler 

 trolling offshore. 



Bluefin Tuna 

 Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus) 



Color: Back dark blue; sides and belly silvery gray tinged 

 with glistening pink, green, and other iridescent colors. 

 Distribution: Occurs in warm and temperate waters on 

 both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Mediterranean, 

 and in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the American 

 Atlantic it is found as far north as the southeast coast of 

 Newfoundland. 



Size: The Bluefin Tuna is said to reach a length of over 

 14 feet and a weight of 1,600 pounds. 



General Information: The Bluefin Tuna is mostly found 

 offshore in clear water. Fish of 3-500 pounds may often 

 be seen in small schools, splashing and jumping near the 

 surface. Each school usually consists of fish of about the 

 same size. The large tuna usually do not school. Age 

 studies show that this fish is 2 feet long by the middle of 

 the second summer of life and almost 4 feet long by the 

 fifth summer. The Bluefin Tuna feeds primarily on fish, 



