Revealing Tuna Secrets

Bluefins Under Siege

Bluefin tuna are also the target of an incredibly lucrative fishery—a single giant Atlantic bluefin can sell for $100,000 or more in Japan. This has led to precipitous declines in tuna populations in recent decades.

To conserve tuna, we need to know more about them—so fishermen can continue to fish, and tuna can thrive. Since 1994, staff at the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC)—a partnership between the Aquarium and Stanford University—has been tagging giant bluefin tuna in the wild and studying tuna at the TRCC facility next door to the Aquarium. It’s the only place in the U.S. where live tuna are kept for research. Four tanks from 5,000 to 86,000 gallons, each with its own life-support system, hold fast-swimming tuna that can grow to hundreds of pounds.

Our unique mix of laboratory and field research is helping inform ecosystem-based management policies that will ensure that these animals thrive. The team studies molecular, biochemical and physiological characteristics, and has developed electronic tracking devices that provide detailed records of the migrations and behaviors of bluefin tuna.