Thunnus alalunga, Albacore : fisheries, gamefish

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Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Albacore
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Thunnus alalunga   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Thunnus alalunga (Albacore)
Thunnus alalunga
Picture by Archambault, C.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Scombriformes (Mackerels) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Etymology: Thunnus: Greek, thynnos = tunna (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bonnaterre.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 600 m (Ref. 168). Subtropical; 10°C - 25°C (Ref. 168); 60°N - 50°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Cosmopolitan in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans including the Mediterranean Sea but not at the surface between 10°N and 10°S. Western Pacific: range extend in a broad band between 40°N and 40°S (Ref. 9684). Often confused with juvenile Thunnus obesus which also have very long pectorals but with rounded tips. Highly migratory species.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 85.2, range 83 - ? cm
Max length : 140 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3669); common length : 100.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9684); max. published weight: 60.3 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 72462)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-16; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 16. Anterior spines much higher than posterior spines giving the fin a strongly concave outline. Interpelvic process small and bifid. Body with very small scales. Pectoral fins remarkably long, about 30% of fork length or longer in 50 cm or longer fish. Ventral surface of liver striated and the central lobe is largest.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

An epipelagic and mesopelagic, oceanic species, abundant in surface waters of 15.6° to 19.4°C; deeper swimming, large albacore are found in waters of 13.5° to 25.2°C; temperatures as low as 9.5°C may be tolerated for short periods (Ref. 168). Known to concentrate along thermal discontinuities (Ref. 168). Form mixed schools with skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and bluefin tuna (T. maccoyii), schools may be associated with floating objects, including sargassum weeds (Ref. 168). Feed on fishes, crustaceans and squids. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Sexual maturity reached at 90 cm (Ref. 36731). Highly appreciated and marketed fresh, smoked, deep frozen or canned. Eaten steamed, broiled, fried and microwaved (Ref. 9987). Also Ref. 1762, 1798, 1804. Angling: Largely caught offshore, where the waters are mild and blue. Albacore favor those areas where cooler water interfaces with warmer water. They are caught with live of dead baitfish such as mullet, sauries, squid, herring, anchovies, sardines, and other small fish. Albacore strike hard and make powerful runs (Ref. 84357).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

The sex ratio in catches is about 1:1 for immature individuals, but males predominate among mature fishes, which is possibly due to both differential mortality of sexes and differential growth rate after maturity.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p. (Ref. 168)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 15 January 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | RFE Identification | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 8.8 - 21.2, mean 15.1 °C (based on 784 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5039   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01738 (0.01428 - 0.02115), b=3.01 (2.97 - 3.05), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.3   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 6.4 (4.8 - 7.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 34 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.18; tm=4-6; tmax=10; Fec=2 million).
Prior r = 0.52, 95% CL = 0.34 - 0.78, Based on 7 stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 31.2 [17.4, 55.3] mg/100g; Iron = 2.89 [1.17, 7.46] mg/100g; Protein = 23.8 [22.4, 25.1] %; Omega3 = 0.434 [0.280, 0.675] g/100g; Selenium = 38.3 [12.8, 114.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 29.8 [4.6, 268.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.363 [0.203, 0.715] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.