Atlantic Skipjack Tuna

U.S. wild-caught Atlantic skipjack tuna is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

• Skipjack tuna do not have scales except on the corselet (a band of large, thick scales behind the head) and the faint lateral line running lengthwise down each side of the fish.
• Their back is dark purplish blue, and their lower sides and belly are silvery with four to six conspicuous longitudinal dark bands, which may look like continuous lines of dark blotches.

• Like other tropical tunas, skipjack tuna grow fast, up to over 3 feet and 40 pounds, and have a relatively short life span, around 7 years.
• In the eastern Atlantic, skipjack are able to reproduce when they’re 1 year old. They spawn throughout the year in tropical waters and seasonally (spring to early fall) in subtropical areas.
• Depending on their size, females can produce between 100,000 and 2 million eggs per year.
• Skipjack spawn more than once a season, as often as once per day.
• Once fertilized, the eggs hatch in about 1 day (depending on the temperature).
• Skipjack tuna are opportunistic feeders, preying on a variety of fish (e.g., herrings), crustaceans, cephalopods, mollusks, and sometimes other skipjack tunas.
• Large pelagic fishes such as billfish, sharks, and other large tunas prey on skipjack tuna.

• Skipjack tuna are found in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters of all oceans. In the western Atlantic, skipjack is found from Massachusetts to Brazil, including in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

• NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Division manage the Atlantic skipjack tuna fishery in the United States.
• Managed under the Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan:
  • Commercial fishermen must have a permit to harvest skipjack.
  • Gear restrictions.
  • Federal management for Atlantic tunas applies to state waters as well, except in Maine, Connecticut, and Mississippi. NOAA Fisheries periodically reviews these states’ regulations to make sure they’re consistent with federal regulations.
• Highly migratory species, such as skipjack tuna have complicated management that requires international cooperation.
• The United States participates in regional fisheries management organizations, such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), to enhance tuna management worldwide. NOAA Fisheries sets regulations for the U.S. western Atlantic skipjack tuna fishery based on our science as well as conservation and management measures adopted by ICCAT.
  • No specific ICCAT management measures currently apply to skipjack tuna.
  • In 2013, ICCAT adopted a measure to expand reporting requirements for tropical tuna fisheries using fish aggregating devices (FADs). The measure will improve data collection and allow ICCAT scientists to better characterize the fishing effort associated with FAD fishing.
• In 2000, the United States established the Dolphin-Safe Tuna Tracking and Verification Program to monitor the domestic production and importation of all frozen and processed tuna products nationwide and to authenticate any associated dolphin-safe claim.

• Commercial fishery:
  • Skipjack tuna are caught by U.S. vessels in the western North Atlantic, but are only a minor component of total U.S. tuna landings and a very small percentage of the total international landings of western Atlantic skipjack tuna.
  • In 2019, the United States contributed less than one percent of the total western Atlantic skipjack landings
  • In 2019, commercial landings of Atlantic skipjack tuna totaled 1,329 pounds and were valued at approximately $1,962, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database. These figures may not match other agency sources of data due to confidential information.
  • Almost all of the U.S. commercial harvest of skipjack tuna comes from the Pacific. Much of it is exported to foreign markets.
• Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
  • In the Atlantic, U.S. commercial fishermen mainly use handgear to harvest skipjack tuna.
  • Handgear includes rod-and-reel and handline gear, which consists of a mainline that is retrieved by hand with no more than two hooks attached.
  • Handgear is highly selective and does not contact the ocean floor.
• Recreational fishery:
  • U.S. recreational fishermen account for more of the total catch of skipjack tuna in the western Atlantic than commercial fishermen.
  • In 2019, recreational landings of skipjack tuna totaled 42,000 pounds.
  • Recreational fishermen must have a permit to fish for skipjack tuna.
  • Recreational fishing for highly migratory species such as skipjack tuna provides significant economic benefits to coastal communities through individual angler expenditures, recreational charters, tournaments, and the shoreside businesses that support those activities.