Yellowfin Tuna | Species

Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna

Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin Tuna

Top
Facts
Why They Matter
Threats
What WWF is Doing
How You Can Help

Facts

Status
Near Threatened
Scientific Name
Thunnus albacares
Weight
up to 450 pounds
Length
up to 7 feet
Habitats
Oceans

Yellowfin tuna are torpedo-shaped with dark metallic blue backs, yellow sides, and a silver belly. They have very long anal and dorsal fins and finlets that are bright yellow. Yellowfin can live up to six or seven years. They are highly migratory and are found throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They form schools with other tunas like skipjack and bigeye, and are also known to associate with dolphins. Yellowfin are able to breed year-round.

Places
Coral Triangle
Habitats
Ocean Habitat

Browse Photos & Videos

A better way to fish for yellowfin tuna in the Philippines

High demand for yellowfin makes it an important economic lifeline for some communities in the Philippines. Unfortunately, yellowfin populations can’t handle much more pressure from fishing.

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Why They Matter

Yellowfin are an important commercial tuna species, particularly the raw sashimi market. Although tuna do provide food and livelihoods for people, they are more than just seafood. Tuna are a top predator in the marine food chain, maintaining a balance in the ocean environment.

Threats

Extinction Risk Near Threatened
1. EX
  Extinct
  
  No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
2. EW
  Extinct in the Wild
  
  Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population
3. CR
  Critically Endangered
  
  Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild
4. EN
  Endangered
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
5. VU
  Vulnerable
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
6. NT
  Near Threatened
  
  Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future
7. LC
  Least Concern
  
  Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

Here a leatherback turtle was accidentally caught by a tuna fishery. Like turtles, tuna are affected by bycatch too.

Bycatch

Since juvenile yellowfin school with adult skipjack, they are increasingly caught as bycatch by vessels that target skipjack. The removal of these juveniles before they have a chance to spawn could lead to fewer yellowfin in the long term.

Overfishing

According to information collected by the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee, the Eastern Pacific stock of yellowfin is overfished and some overfishing is occurring in the Indian Ocean.

What WWF Is Doing

Tuna are integral parts of the entire marine ecosystem and our goal is for populations to be healthy and well-managed. We partner with governments and regional fisheries management organizations to advocate for stricter plans to recover depleted tuna stocks, combat pirate fishing and reduce bycatch.

WWF works with other organizations and the fishing industry to transform tuna fishing into a sustainable business, particularly through certification of tuna fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). WWF helps ensure that tuna are harvested responsibly and sustainably managed through work with the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). We encourage retailers to source from fisheries that are MSC-certified and work to raise consumer awareness about sustainably caught tuna.

Projects

Improving management in eastern Pacific tuna fisheries

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is a process that allows stakeholders to assess how effective different management strategies can be. WWF convened workshops on MSE in five tuna fishing nations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Ecuador, Panama, the United States, Mexico, and Colombia.