Pacific bluefin tuna
Pacific bluefin tuna | |
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At Tokyo Sea Life Park, Japan | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scombriformes |
Family: | Scombridae |
Genus: | Thunnus |
Subgenus: | Thunnus |
Species: | T. orientalis
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Binomial name | |
Thunnus orientalis | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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The Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) is a
In the past it was often included in
Like the closely related Atlantic bluefin and
Distribution
The Pacific bluefin tuna is primarily found in the
It
The species is considered to consist of only one stock.[4]
Physiology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2011) |
Thermoregulation
Almost all fish are cold-blooded (
The tuna's ability to maintain body temperature has several definite advantages over other sea life. It need not limit its range according to water temperature, nor is it dominated by climatic changes. The additional heat supplied to the muscles is also advantageous because of the resulting extra power and speed.
Life cycle
Pacific bluefin tunas reach maturity at about 5 years of age, the generation length is estimated at 7–9 years and based on two separate sources the longevity is 15 years or 26 years.[3] At maturity it is about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long and weighs about 60 kg (130 lb).[3] Individuals that are 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long are regularly seen, and the maximum reported is 3 m (9.8 ft) in length and 450 kg (990 lb) in weight.[6] Elsewhere, a mass of up to 550 kg (1,210 lb) has been reported for the species.[16] According to the International Game Fish Association, the all-tackle game fish record was a 411.6 kg (907 lb) individual (Donna Pascoe) caught on 19 February 2014 onboard charter boat Gladiator during the National Tournament.[17]
Spawning occurs from April to August, but the exact timing depends on the region: Early in the northwest Philippine Sea (the southern part of its breeding range) and late in the Sea of Japan (the northern part of its breeding range).[3] Large females can carry more eggs than small ones, and between 5 million and 25 million eggs have been reported.[3]
Pacific bluefins eat various small schooling
Human interaction
Commercial fishery
Pacific bluefin tuna support a large
Aquaculture
Japan is both the biggest consumer and the leader in tuna farming research.
Conservation
Unlike the other bluefins (
According to the 2022 stock assessments by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-Like Species in the North Pacific Ocean (ISC), the population has increased from a low point of about 2 percent of historic levels in 2010 to about 10 percent in 2020.[8] This has coincided with a reduction in fishing mortality.
Catches have ranged between about 8,000 and 40,000 tonnes since 1952.[8]
Its wide range and migratory behavior lead to some problems, since fisheries in the species are managed by several different
Mercury levels
Pacific bluefin flesh may contain levels of mercury or PCBs that are harmful to humans who consume it.[12] A similar problem exists in other tuna species.
Cuisine
About 80% of the Pacific and Atlantic bluefin tunas are consumed in Japan, and tunas that are particularly suited for sashimi and sushi can fetch very high prices. In Japan, some foods made available for the first time of the year are considered good luck, especially bluefin tuna. Winning these new year auctions is often used as a way to get publicity, which raises the prices considerably higher than their usual market value: on 5 January 2013, a 489-pound (222 kg) Pacific bluefin tuna caught off northeastern Japan was sold in the first auction of the year at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo for a record 155.4 million yen (US$1.76 million) – leading to record unit prices of US$3,603 per pound, or ¥703,167 per kilogram.[28] A 618-pound (280 kg) pacific bluefin tuna sold for 333.6 million yen (US$3.1 million) at a Tokyo fish market on 5 January 2019. The price equates to roughly $5,000 a pound, close to double the previous record. The fish was caught off Oma in northern Japan.[29]
References
- ^ Collette, Boustany. "Thunnus orientalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T170341A170087840". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ "Thunnus orientalis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ .
- ^ a b AsiaPacific-FishWatch (2017). "AsiaPacific-FishWatch, Thunnus orientalis species profile, Biology". AsiaPacific-FishWatch.
- ^ Collette, B.B. (1999). Mackerels, molecules, and morphology. In: Proceedings of the 5th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, Noumea. pp. 149-164
- ^ a b c d e f Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2011). "Thunnus orientalis" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ a b Fisheries, NOAA (2024-02-21). "Pacific Bluefin Tuna | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c ISC (2022). "Annex 13: Stock Assessment of Pacific Bluefin Tuna in the Pacific Ocean in 2022" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ The Pew Charitable Trusts: Global Tuna Conservation. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Sustainable tuna guide". www.seafoodwatch.org. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "Red List Fish - Greenpeace USA". 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b c "Tuna, Bluefin (Hon Maguro)". Blue Ocean Institute. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Pacific bluefin tuna". www.montereybayaquarium.org. Monterey Bay Aquarium. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7167-3873-2.
- ISSN 0010-406X.
- ^ TAG Bluefin Science in the Pacific. Tag-A-Giant Foundation
- ^ "Fishingpro.co.nz".
- ^ "Breeding the Overfished Bluefin Tuna". LiveScience. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- Japan Times, August 31, 2010, p. 3.
- ^ "The holy grail of fish breeding". taipeitimes.com. September 30, 2006.
- ^ "Cultivation, seedling production, and selective breeding of bluefin tuna and other fish at the Kinki University Fisheries Laboratory". Flku.jp. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- ^ Jung, Carolyn (2008-05-21). "The rarest tuna of all - Japan's farmed Kindai". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Raisfeld, Robin (2008-05-04). "Can a Farmed Bluefin Tuna Save the Planet? - New York Magazine". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- .
- .
- ^ Casey, M. (17 November 2014). Sushi eaters pushing Pacific bluefin tuna to brink of extinction. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "A bluefin tuna sells for record $1.76M in Tokyo". USA Today. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ "World's Most-Prized Fish Sold for $3.1 Million at Tokyo Auction". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
External links
- Encyclopedia of Life
- TOPP, Tagging of Pacific Predators, a research group that tags and tracks the amazing Pacific bluefin tuna to learn more about it. The site features information, photos, blog posts and multimedia stories about the bluefin tuna.
- Pew Charitable Trusts, new data (1/2013) shows that the population of Pacific bluefin is a small fraction of what it used to be, and is in danger of all but disappearing, - actually the Pacific Bluefin Tuna Population is down over 96%
- Photos of Pacific bluefin tuna on Sealife Collection