Family: Scombridae, Mackerels view all from this family
Description To 10' (3 m); 1,496 lbs (678.6 kg). Robust, fusiform; dark blue or black above, silvery-white below with pale lines alternating with rows of light dots, first dorsal fin yellow or bluish, second dorsal reddish brown, anal fin and all finlets dusky yellow, edges black, median keels black. Snout conical, shorter than rest of head; maxilla reaches pupil of eye. Pectoral fin tip falls well short of second dorsal fin. 2 dorsal fins hardly separated, first with 14 (rarely 12) spines; 8-10 dorsal and 7-9 anal finlets. Caudal peduncle has large, lateral keel, 2 smaller keels at caudal fin base. Minute scales overall, corselet indistinct.
Habitat Surface of open ocean; young in warm waters, adults move into colder waters.
Range In Atlantic from Labrador to ne. Brazil, including Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. In Pacific from Shelikof Strait, Alaska, to Peru.
Discussion The Bluefin Tuna is a very important part of the commercial longline fishery. The heaviest Blue Tuna on record weighed 1,496 lbs (678.6 kg), and was caught off Nova Scotia in 1979.
