Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Reproduction
The Oil Spill Disaster and the Atlantic Bluefin (2010). Full Report.
Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn just once a year and don’t reach reproductive maturity until they are 8-12 years old. This makes bluefin tuna more vulnerable to over fishing than some of the smaller tuna species that can spawn several times in a year. Female Atlantic bluefin can produce up to 10 million eggs per year, but just a small fraction survives to adulthood.
There are two populations of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a western and eastern population that mix throughout the Atlantic ocean to feed, but return to the place they were born to reproduce. The western Atlantic population returns to the Gulf of Mexico in the late spring/early summer to spawn, while the eastern population spawns in the Mediterranean Sea between June and August.
-
Take Action
Take action through WWF's Conservation Action Network, where you can speak out for wildlife and wild places around the globe.
-
Adopt an Animal
Make a symbolic animal adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.
