---
title: "What the sources say about the Yellowfin Tuna | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Yellowfin Tuna profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Yellowfin Tuna (*Thunnus albacares*)

> 46 claims from the Yellowfin Tuna profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Yellowfin Tuna](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/yellowfin-tuna/)

## Collette et al. (2021). Thunnus albacares. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T21857A46624561.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-2.rlts.t21857a46624561.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus) |
| The latest Red List assessment rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF copy checked against taxon id 21857) |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Pacific Yellowfin Tuna. NOAA Fisheries.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pacific-yellowfin-tuna

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Fish, squid and crustaceans | feed near the top of the food chain on fish, squid, and crustaceans (note: stats.diet) |
| Yellowfin are torpedo-shaped, metallic dark blue on the back, and yellow to silver on the belly | 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. |
| with bright-yellow dorsal and anal fins and finlets | their dorsal and anal fins and finlets are bright yellow |
| NOAA Fisheries says yellowfin grow fast, up to 6 feet long and 400 pounds. | Yellowfin tuna grow fast, up to 6 feet long and 400 pounds |
| The same agency gives the Pacific stock a somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years | have a somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years |
| Most can reproduce by age 2 | Most yellowfin tuna are able to reproduce when they reach age 2. |
| females can spawn almost daily, releasing millions of eggs each time | Females can spawn almost daily and release millions of eggs each time they spawn. |
| Yellowfin live in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world | Yellowfin tuna are found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world |
| They are highly migratory. | Yellowfin tuna are highly migratory and travel long distances throughout the warm ocean. |
| They feed near the top of the food chain on fish, squid and crustaceans | Adult yellowfin tuna feed near the top of the food chain on fish, squid, and crustaceans. |
| they are known to gather around floating debris, anchored buoys and dolphins | known to gather around drifting flotsam (natural floating debris), fish aggregating devices (FADs), anchored buoys, dolphins, and other large marine animals |
| Marine mammals, billfish and sharks feed on the adults. | Marine mammals, billfish, and sharks feed on adult tuna. |
| NOAA's most recent assessments (2023 for the Eastern Pacific stock, 2020 for the Central and Western Pacific) find both stocks neither overfished nor subject to overfishing. | According to the most recent stock assessments: The Eastern Pacific stock is not overfished and not subject to overfishing (2023 stock assessment). Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART . The Central and Western Pacific stock is not overfished and is not subject to overfishing (2020 stock assessment) |
| In 2024, US commercial landings of Pacific yellowfin totalled 9.8 million pounds. | In 2024, commercial landings of Pacific yellowfin tuna totaled 9.8 million pounds |
| NOAA calls it a somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years for the Pacific stock, and says most can reproduce once they reach age 2. | somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years. Most yellowfin tuna are able to reproduce when they reach age 2. |
| NOAA calls them very productive. | Yellowfin are very productive. |
| Not very long. | have a somewhat short life span of 6 to 7 years (note: faq 2 lead) |
| Grow Fast, Spawn Often | Yellowfin tuna grow fast ... Females can spawn almost daily (note: heading) |

## Atlantic Yellowfin Tuna. NOAA Fisheries.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-yellowfin-tuna

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A warm-muscled torpedo that can swim across an entire ocean. | can swim across an entire ocean (note: tagline, ocean crossing) |
| NOAA says yellowfin can swim across an entire ocean | Yellowfin tuna are highly migratory and can swim across an entire ocean. |

## Thunnus albacares summary page. FishBase.

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Thunnus-albacares.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| usually in the top 250 m | depth range 1 - 1602 m, usually 1 - 250 m (note: stats.habitat) |
| FishBase lists them as absent from the Mediterranean | Worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, but absent from the Mediterranean Sea. |
| FishBase gives a maximum length of 239 cm, measured to the fork of the tail, and a maximum published weight of 200 kg. A more common length is 150 cm. | Max length : 239 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637 ); common length : 150 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168 ); max. published weight: 200.0 kg |
| Tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide | Worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas (note: stats.habitat) |
| absent from the Mediterranean | but absent from the Mediterranean Sea (note: stats.habitat) |
| though FishBase lists a maximum reported age of 18 years | max. reported age: 18 years |

## Altringham & Block (1997). Why Do Tuna Maintain Elevated Slow Muscle Temperatures? Power Output Of Muscle Isolated From Endothermic And Ectothermic Fish. Journal of Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.200.20.2617

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A warm-muscled torpedo that can swim across an entire ocean. | regional endothermy has evolved in the muscle of some tunas (note: tagline, warm muscle) |
| a heat exchanger holding a 10 degrees C temperature difference would typically double the muscle's peak power | A counter-current heat exchanger which could maintain a 10 degrees C temperature differential would typically double maximum muscle power output (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its swimming muscle is regionally endothermic: warmed in part by heat the fish makes itself. | regional endothermy has evolved in the muscle of some tunas ... the endothermic yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) |
| slow muscle fibres from yellowfin and from bonito | isolated bundles of slow muscle fibres from the endothermic yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and its ectothermic relative the bonito (Sarda chiliensis) |
| holding a 10 degrees C difference would typically double the muscle's maximum power output | A counter-current heat exchanger which could maintain a 10 degrees C temperature differential would typically double maximum muscle power output |
| a heat exchanger holding a 10 degree difference would typically double the muscle's peak output | A counter-current heat exchanger which could maintain a 10 degrees C temperature differential would typically double maximum muscle power output (note: vibe.reason) |

## Pavlov et al. (2017). Hydraulic control of tuna fins: A role for the lymphatic system in vertebrate locomotion. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aak9607

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study of tunas found a hydraulic system in their median fins | a musculo-vascular complex, consisting of fin muscles, bones, and lymphatic vessels, is involved in the hydraulic control of median fins (note: scope: tunas, family Scombridae) |
| fin muscles, bones and lymphatic vessels (part of the system that manages body fluid) are involved in controlling them | the mammalian lymphatic system, which is involved in immune response and fluid homeostasis ... a musculo-vascular complex, consisting of fin muscles, bones, and lymphatic vessels, is involved in the hydraulic control of median fins |

## Wright et al. (2021). Yellowfin Tuna Behavioural Ecology and Catchability in the South Atlantic: The Right Place at the Right Time (and Depth). Frontiers in Marine Science.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.664593

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tagged yellowfin in the South Atlantic dived to a maximum depth of 1,014 m and met water as cold as 6.4°C. | YFT from the present study had dives to a maximum depth of 1014 m and experienced ambient water temperatures as low as 6.4°C |
| Tags in the South Atlantic showed fish staying shallow, under 50 m, through the night | During the night, YFT consistently remained shallow (<50 m) |
| then spending more of the day deep, past 100 m | during the day more time was spent deep (>100 m) |
| recorded dives to a maximum depth of 1,014 m, in water as cold as 6.4°C | YFT from the present study had dives to a maximum depth of 1014 m and experienced ambient water temperatures as low as 6.4°C |
| Satellite and archival tags on yellowfin near St Helena in the South Atlantic | Archival and pop-up satellite tags (PSAT) were used in the South Atlantic Ocean around St Helena |
| The same study cites an earlier one that recorded a maximum depth of 1,600 m. | which is within the range reported in previous studies [max depth of 1,600 m ( Schaefer et al., 2014 )] |

## Lam et al. (2020). Complex Dispersal of Adult Yellowfin Tuna From the Main Hawaiian Islands. Frontiers in Marine Science.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00138

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Some adults tagged off Kaua'i in Hawaii made rapid dispersals of more than 800 km | rapid, long-distance (>800 km) dispersals in multiple directions for others |
| adults tagged off Kaua'i | Adult yellowfin tuna frequenting the MHI have more complex movements than previously assumed. (note: abstract also says tagged 'off Kaua'i' with popup satellite archival tags) |
| weightKg: 60 | nineteen yellowfin tuna (41–91 kg, estimated whole weight) (note: task #1267: midpoint of the tagged adults; Medium class across the whole range. NOAA's 400 lb and FishBase's 200 kg are maximums) |