Tuna

Tuna, high-speed fish with rows of finlets on the tail. Also called tunnies, they live in shoals in the warmer seas of the world. The bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean grows to 14 ft (4.3 m) long and weighs up to 1,800 lb (816.5 kg). Others, such as the Pacific albacore and yellow-fin tuna, are smaller, but all are important commercial fish. They are caught by net, hook, and harpoon, and their “white meat” is canned. Tuna feed on small fish, eating considerable amounts during the summer months in the northern parts of their ranges before migrating southwards to spawn.