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Yellowfin tuna
At the Aquarium
Natural History
Yellowfin tuna are powerful swimmers, built for endurance and speed. To help conserve energy on long-distance journeys, their bodies are almost perfectly streamlined, reducing drag around the fins. And tuna can retract those fins so water flows more smoothly over their bodies. This makes tuna super-streamlined.
Unlike most fish, tuna are warm-blooded and can heat their bodies up to 6° C (43° F) warmer than the surrounding water. This added warmth helps a tuna’s muscles work faster and more efficiently. Tuna consume as much as 5% of their body weight daily and must continually swim with their mouths open to force water over their gills, supercharging their blood-rich muscles with oxygen.
Yellowfin tuna prefer tropical temperatures, so the only time they visit the outer bay is when strong El Niño currents bring warm water to Monterey Bay. They look similar to bluefin tuna, except for longer and wider pectoral fins and a long second dorsal fin.
Conservation
Yellowfin tuna mature and reproduce very quickly and seem to have a healthy population size, but there are problems with how they’re caught.
A staple of the tuna canning industry, yellowfin tuna are sought by purse seine and longlining fleets worldwide. Purse seines catch tons of unwanted fish and other animals, called bycatch. Longlines kill a large number of endangered sea turtles every year.
When buying yellowfin tuna, ask for U.S. troll-caught, pole-caught or handline-caught; these are environmentally friendly fishing techniques. Visit the Seafood Watch section on our web site to learn more about choosing seafood wisely.
Cool Facts
A 200-pound yellowfin tuna can swim steadily at 23 miles per hour.
Light-colored, vertical bars appear on the sides of yellowfin tuna while they’re feeding.
Magnetite, a mineral found in neural pits in the tuna’s snout, may be used by the tuna to detect the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.
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Animal Facts
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ON EXHIBIT:
Outer Bay
- Scientific Name:
Thunnus albacares
- Habitat:
Open Waters
- Animal Type:
Fishes
- Diet:
fish, krill, pelagic red crab, squid
- Size:
to 6.5 feet (1.9 m), 440 pounds (200 kg)
- Range:
tropical and subtropical waters worldwide
- Relatives:
mackerel, bonito, albacore tuna, bluefin tuna; Family: Scombridae
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