Pacific Yellowfin Tuna

About The Species

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

Status

• According to the 2018 stock assessment conducted by the IATTC scientific staff, the eastern Pacific Ocean yellowfin tuna stock is not overfished but is subject to overfishing.
• According to the 2017 stock assessment, the central and western Pacific Ocean yellowfin tuna stock is not overfished and is not subject to overfishing.

Appearance

• Yellowfin tuna are torpedo-shaped.
• They are metallic dark blue on the back and upper sides and change from yellow to silver on the belly.
• True to their name, their dorsal and anal fins and finlets are bright yellow.
• An adult yellowfin tuna can be distinguished from other tunas by its long, bright-yellow dorsal fin and a yellow stripe down its side.

Biology

• Yellowfin tuna grow fast, up to 6 feet long and 400 pounds, and have a somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years.
• Most yellowfin tuna are able to reproduce when they reach age 2.
• They spawn throughout the year in tropical waters and seasonally at higher latitudes.
• Their peak spawning periods are in spring and fall.
• Yellowfin are very productive. Females can spawn almost daily and release millions of eggs each time they spawn.
• Adult yellowfin tuna feed near the top of the food chain on fish, squid, and crustaceans.
• Fish, seabirds, dolphins, and other animals prey on larval and juvenile tuna.
• Marine mammals, billfish, and sharks feed on adult tuna.

Where They Live

• Yellowfin tuna are found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world, including the waters around the U.S. Pacific Islands and off southern California. 

Management

• NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific yellowfin tuna fishery on the West Coast.
• Managed under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species:
  • Fishermen are required to have permits and to record their catch in logbooks.
  • Gear restrictions and operational requirements are in place to minimize bycatch.
  • Large purse seine vessels that fish for tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean are required to have 100 percent observer coverage.
  • All other commercial vessels based on the U.S. West Coast must carry a fishery observer, if requested by NOAA Fisheries.
  • Longline fishing is prohibited within 200 miles of the U.S. West Coast.
  • Annual training in safe handling and release techniques for protected species is required and all vessels must carry and use specific equipment for handling and releasing these animals.
• NOAA Fisheries and Western Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific yellowfin tuna fishery in the Pacific Islands.
• Managed under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific:
  • Fishermen are required to have permits and to record catch in logbooks.
  • Gear restrictions and monitoring requirements are in place to minimize bycatch and potential gear conflicts between different fisheries.
  • A limit on the number of permits for Hawaii and American Samoa longline fisheries controls participation in the fishery.
  • Longline fishing is prohibited in some areas to protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals, reduce conflicts between fishermen, and prevent localized stock depletion (when a large number of fish are removed from an area).
  • These areas are enforced through NOAA Fisheries’ vessel monitoring system program (longline boats must be equipped with a satellite transponder that provides real-time position updates and tracks vessel movements).
  • Hawaii-based and American Samoa–based longline vessels must carry onboard observers when requested by NOAA Fisheries, in part to record interactions with sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals.
  • Annual training in safe handling and release techniques for protected species is required and all vessels must carry and use specific equipment for handling and releasing these animals.
• Management of highly migratory species, like Pacific yellowfin tuna, is complicated because the species migrate thousands of miles across international boundaries and are fished by many nations.
• Effective conservation and management of this resource requires international cooperation as well as strong domestic management.
• Two international organizations, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), manage this fishery internationally.  Working with the U.S. Department of State, NOAA Fisheries domestically implements the IATTC and WCPFC conservation and management measures.
• Under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, U.S. purse seine vessels operating throughout the western and central Pacific Ocean must be registered and are monitored through logbooks, cannery landing receipts, national surveillance activities, observers, and port sampling.
• Purse seiners in the eastern Pacific Ocean also operate under the International Dolphin Conservation Program, a multilateral agreement aimed at reducing and minimizing bycatch of dolphins and undersize tuna.
• 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.