Taxonomy
- The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the aku, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna, or victor fish.
Species
of Commercial Interest
- The designation of “Skipjack” refers to a single species, Katsuwonus pelamis.
Distribution
- Skipjack tuna are distributed circumtropically,with some spillover into warmer temperate waters (warmer than 15°C). Additionally, they are present along the oceanic coast of Europe and throughout the North Sea, but are absent from the Mediterranean Sea and Black Seas.
- For the purposes of assessing global skipjack populations, there are five stocks — the western and central Pacific (WCPO), eastern Pacific (EPO), East Atlantic, West Atlantic, and Indian Ocean (IO).
Biology
- Skipjack matures at an early age, has a moderate lifespan, is highly fecund, and is widely distributed, making it inherently resilient to fishing pressure. Considered to be pelagic and oceanodromous, skipjack are found in offshore waters to depths of 260 m (in waters 58-86°F (14.7 to 30°C)). This species exhibits a strong tendency to school in surface waters with birds, drifting objects, sharks, and whales. They species feeds on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and molluscs, exhibiting highly opportunistic feeding behaviors. It is preyed upon by large pelagic fishes. In the western Atlantic it is commonly found in mixed schools with Blackfin Tuna, Thunnus atlanticus.
- This species spawns several times per season in batches: at sea surface temperatures of 24–29°C throughout the year in the Caribbean and other equatorial waters, and from spring to early fall in subtropical waters, with the spawning season becoming shorter as distances from the equator increases. In tropical waters, reproductively active female Skipjack Tuna spawn almost daily. The larvae are restricted to waters with specific surface temperatures
Sustainability
- IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC)
- MBA
Seafood Watch:
- Skipjack is most often sold as canned light tuna and is the most common species found in tuna cans. They are most often caught with troll, pole-and-line, purse seine and longline gear. There is little or no bycatch when skipjack is caught with troll or pole-and- line gear. The bycatch associated with purse seining can be considerable, especially when these nets are set around natural floating objects or when "fish aggregating devices" (FADs) are used. In addition, longlines result in large quantities of bycatch including threatened or endangered species. Since there are no international laws to reduce bycatch, these longline fleets are contributing heavily to the long-term decline of some of these species.
Potential
Health Concerns
- No health concerns at present.
References
