This section provides you facts of Fish Species Around The World:

Currently holding:

Tuna Species Guide

Salmon Species Guide

Coming Soon:

Hamachi Species Guide

Flounder Species Guide

Uni Species Guide

Red Snapper (Madai) Species Guide

Seafood Nutirion Guide

Sushi Guide

Oyster Guide

Tuna Species Guide

Albacore Tuna

Albacore is a highly migratory species. It can be found in the cooler tropical waters, and is always on the move, seeking for best feeding and spawning grounds.Product Characteristics: Due to its white colored meat albacore is also called " the chicken of the sea". As canned product it is quite popular in the States, where it is marketed as "White Tuna". The meat has a somewhat dry of texture, and the taste comes close to the taste of chicken meat.

Future Supply: The stock of Albacore in the Northern Atlantic is considered to be overfished. There is also indication that stocks in the Southern Atlantic of West-Africa are fully exploited and nearing to a situation of over-fishing. On the situation of the albacore in the Mediterranean the opinions seem non-conclusive. Stocks in the Northern Pacific are fully exploited, but in the Southern Pacific they have reached their critical level.
It is hard to predict if global albacore resources can support further growth. One reason is the strongly variable catch levels each season in the catching areas, caused by the continuous migration of the albacore species.

Bigeye tuna look a lot like Yellowfin. They are hard to distinct sometimes. They swim at greater depth then Skipjack and Yellowfin, and therefore have more fat to insulate them from the cold water. This makes them especially attractive for the Japanese sashimi market. Product Characteristics: The meat turns light gray and somewhat darkish after cooking or grilling. Its color makes it less fit for canning. The color and taste of big fish gets almost near to that of beef. In S-America sometimes baby -bigeye are used for canning, this is still marketed as light meat.

Future Supply: Scientists agree that the Bigeye resources are fully exploited and in some cases over-fishing are occurring. Through more purse-seine fishing activity on skipjack and yellowfin, the (by)-catch of small-size big-eye has increased a lot. On the other hand the less-efficient long-line fishing activity has decreased. This trend might be threatening the reproduction of the stocks. A precautionary approach towards the resources seems desirable.

Bonito

Bonito is a species associated with the tuna family, but cannot be marketed as Tuna in many countries.
Bonito is quite popular as a fried fish with olive oil, especially in the Mediterranean  region. Due to its small size, and firm dark meat it is well fit for this purpose. The species is mostly fished in coastal water by small local vessels. The catches tend to be quite seasonal.                           

Product characteristics: The bonito meat has a firm texture and a darkish color, however small / young bonito can also have quite a light color, close to that of skipjack. This is one of the reasons why it is sometimes used as a cheaper substitute of skipjack tuna, especially for canning purposes. The bonito has a moderate fat content.

Future Supply: Due to the fact that bonito are caught by relatively small vessels and in several local regions, also as by-catch, it is quite hard to determine what the supply will be or is. Catching volumes  in the Black sea and Mediterranean have been decreasing during the last decade. The catches in the Golf of Thailand, along the Birmese Coast, and South China Sea supply the canned tuna industry. The size of the fish tends to become smaller, the supply is irregular and quite limited.

Northern Bluefin tuna makes extensive migrations. It is the slowest growing tuna species, which can reach an age of 20 years or more, which explains her size. Bluefin is extremely popular in Japan for sashimi, due to its large size, color, texture and high fat content of the meat. It's quality in combination with its rarity make it the most expensive tuna species.

Future Supply: The Northern Bluefin is certainly a tuna species under threat. Its slow growing, in combination with the over-exploitation of the stocks has caused authorities to implement catching quota in the Eastern Atlantic

Southern Bluefin Tuna

Southern Bluefin is considered the ultimate delicatessen of the tuna family in Japan. For Bluefin sashimi (raw tuna fillets) the Japanese are willing to pay extremely high prices, due its size, color, high fat content , texture and taste. The high price is caused by the fact that this tuna species is very hard to get. Very few markets can compete with the prices that Japanese buyers are willing pay.

Future Supply: The Southern Bluefin tuna is the most overexploited tuna species. The stocks are heavily depleted. Japan, Australia and New Zealand have imposed restrictions on the catching of this tuna species. This situation has triggered actions by several environmental groups such as WWF and GreenPeace. Many initiatives around the world have been taken to ranch wild caught bluefin tuna in captivity, In Croatia, Spain, Marocco, Australia and Japan. This industry will continue to grow, but due to the slow growth of the big-eye and the high costs involved, it cannot fulfil the demand for bluefin in any way.

Skipjack Tuna

Skipjack is the most popular tuna for consumption. It prefers to swim in the upper mixed layers of the ocean water, and mostly found between 45o N and 40o S. It is highly migratory and can be found all over the world within tropical waters. Large schools sometimes mix with small yellowfin. Normally dolphins do not swim together with the small skipjack, which almost makes it a guaranteed dolphin-safe species.
Product characteristics: The meat of the skipjack has a somewhat darker of color sometimes even slightly pinkish. It has a relatively tender texture, and is has somewhat more a fishy taste then some other tuna species. The small size of the fish gives small loins and chunks. Making it excellent for canned tuna chunks.

Future Supply: The scientific assessment of the skipjack stock is that all catching areas are moderately exploited. In some areas such as the Indian Ocean there is an occurrence of full exploitation.

Tongol or mostly popular for canning purposes. It is a very seasonal fish caught mostly by small vessels in the waters along the Malay and Burmese coast. Also around the Indonesian archipelago there are local catches. Product characteristics: The meat is quite tender and has an almost white color. It has not too much taste. It is by some more appreciated as a canned product then the somewhat drier albacore meat.

Future Supply: There is limited data available on the volume of the catch, and the status of the current stocks. One reason is that Tongol is mainly caught by small local vessels, which makes monitoring difficult. The general feeling is that tongol catches could increase slightly and still maintain a sustainable level. Availability tends to be very seasonal, and restricted to mainly Indonesia and Thailand.

Yellowfin is the second tuna species is terms of volume and popularity. They are found between 45oN and 40oS. They cover enormous distances around the globe, and all stocks mingle. It is a big fish, which can swim at very high speed, which may be one of the reasons why in some areas, dolphins and large full-grown yellowfin swim together. Through extensive measures from the side of the tuna industry, and the creation of some very good monitoring programs. Fortunately the volume by-catch of dolphins has become insignificant now in relation to the its natural mortality, and was below 500 dolphins on a global basis.

Product Characteristics: In cooked form the yellowfin meat tends to have a to very light yellow/brown color. The structure of the meat is quite firm, and the taste is mild. If the fish gets larger then 10-15 kgs the meat tends to become slightly darker and somewhat dryer. The large size of the yellowfin make it well fit for solid pack in cans.

Future Supply: Scientific analyses suggest that yellowfin is exploited to its optimum in the Eastern Pacific ocean, and also in the Western Pacific there will not be any significant growth in volume for the future. In the Indian Ocean exploitation leaves little space for increase. The general concerns on yellowfin is that due to increased catches of baby-yellowfin (especially in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Western Pacific), the stocks might suffer on the long term.

Resource: atuna.com

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