Scientific Name
Thunnus maccoyii

Common Name
Southern bluefin tuna

Biology
By maturity, most southern bluefin tuna lead an oceanic, pelagic existence (Ref. 6390). Spawning fish and larvae are encountered in waters with surface temperatures between 20? and 30?C. An opportunistic feeder, preying on a wide variety of fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods, salps, and other marine animals. Mostly canned (Ref. 9684). A specialized fishery for sashimi-quality has been developed recently by New Zealand fishers. In Japan, it is highly prized for the sashimi markets.

Classification

Classified By

Castelnau, 1872

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Mackerels, tunas, bonitos (Scombridae)

Distribution

Region

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific

Distribution

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: temperate and cold seas, mainly between 30?S and 50?S, to nearly 60?S. During spawning, large fish migrate to tropical seas, off the west coast of Australia, up to 10?S. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). If the current exploitation continues, the population will be below 500 mature individuals in 100 years (Ref. 27905).

Range

8°S - 60°S, 180°W - 180°E

Environment

Climate

Temperate

Water Temperature From

5 °C

Water Temperature To

20 °C

Depth From - meters

50 m

Depth To - meters

2743 m

Zone

pelagic-oceanic

Environment

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 50 - 2743 m (Ref. 57178)

Trophic Level

3.9300000667572 s.e. 0.53 Based on food items.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

245 cm

Common Length

160 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5039 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.14-0.15; tm=8-9; tmax=20; Fec=14 million)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Critically Endangered (CR) (A1bd)