Big Eye Tuna

Fact File: Common Name(s):Big Eye Tuna Scientific Name:Thunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839) Usual Size:To 200cm UK Record Weights from rod/line: Shore:66lb 12oz Boat:Vacant MAFF Minimum Size: Shore: Boat:

Identification: Typical tunny shape, and a deep set fish. Colour: lower sides and belly whitish with a lateral iridescent band along the side. First dorsal fin deep yellow, second and anal fins light yellow. Finlets bright yellow and edged with black. Pectoral fin exceeds the edge of the second dorsal. Swim bladder present. Breeding: Egg dispersal, with two spawnings per year of between 2.9 to 6.3 million eggs. Habitat: An offshore species, with a sea temperature requirement of between 18/200C. They are governed by the thermocline and therefore tend to be a deeper swimming fish, although known to come into the surface layers during hours of darkness. Food: Fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. Range: Tropical and subtropical waters world-wide although known to be absent from the Mediterranean. Additional Notes: Exceedingly rare vagrant to UK waters. REFERENCES: FAO Species Catalogue 2 - Scombrids of The World - Collette/Nauen Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean - Whitehead, Bauchot, Hureau, Nielsen, Tortonese Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe - Wheeler

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