Description: A small narrow-bodied tuna. Body elongate and slightly compressed. Mouth relatively large. Two dorsal fins close together; the first one very long. Finlets behind second dorsal and anal fin. Caudal fin deeply forkedPectoral fins short; pelvic fins separated by two flaps (interpelvic processes). Lateral line wavy, gradually curving down toward caudal peduncle. Corselet of large thick scales over the pectoral area; the rest of the body is covered in very small scales. The caudal peduncle is slender, and has a well developed lateral keel between two smaller keels on each side. Caudal fin deeply forked. Dorsal region steel-blue, com oblique dark stripes down to the flanks; ventral side silvery.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from Norway to South Africa; Mediterranean and Black Sea. Western Atlantic from Canada to northern Argentina, but apparently absent from most of the Caribbean Sea. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 91.4 cm fork length; common length 50.0 cm FL; maximum published weight 11.0 kg.
Maturity: Minimum length at first maturity 39.5 cm (males); 40.5 cm (females).
Behavioural ecology: Forms schools of similar-sized individuals.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 80 - 200 m.
Habitat: Epipelagic.
Feeding habits: Preys on small schooling fishes, invertebrates like squid and shrimps, and can swallow relatively large prey.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.5
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercial species.
Conservation status: Global: Least concern.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety: Health warning: reports of ciguatera poisoning in some areas.
REFERENCES
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 1375-2127.
Collette B.B., Nauen C.E. (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. FAO Fisheries Synopses, 125 vol.2, 137 pp.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. www.iucnredlist.org
Morato T., Afonso P., Lourinho P., Barreiros J.P., Santos R.S., Nash R.D.M. (2001). Length–weight relationships for 21 coastal fish species of the Azores, north-eastern Atlantic. Fisheries Research, 50(3): 297-302.
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
Santos M.N., Gaspar M.B., Vasconcelos P., Monteiro C.C. (2002). Weight–length relationships for 50 selected fish species of the Algarve coast (southern Portugal). Fisheries Research, 59(1): 289-295.
