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Yellowfin Tuna
| YELLOWFIN TUNA Family - Scombridae Genus - Thunnus Species - albacares |
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Taxonomy
Lesson first described the blackfin tuna as Thunnus atlanticus in 1831. The genus name Thunnus is derived from the Greek "thynnos" meaning tunna.
Common Names
Blackfin tuna (English), albacore (English), deep-bodied tunny (English)
Geographical Distribution
The blackfin tuna is one of the few tuna with a limited range. It occurs only in the western Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts (US) south to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. It is abundant in tropical regions, however in the northern Gulf of Mexico the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is more common than the blackfin tuna. The blackfin tuna is a highly migratory species, moving into more temperate waters during the summer months.
There are many different types of tuna in Florida's waters including the blackfin, skipjack, blue and yellow fin. Pound for pound, tunas are the best fighting fish around. The blackfin tuna in South Florida are typically 15 to 35 pounds.
The springtime is the hot time of year for blackfin tuna fishing and the best three months would probably be April, May and June. Blackfin are primarily a surface-feeding fish, eating plankton, squid, small bait fish. Yellowfin tuna are scarcer and the best time of year to land them is January - May. Yellowfins can reach upwards of 200 pounds.
