Blue Fin Tuna

Page history last edited by Stanly Martin 3 years, 2 months ago

BLUE FIN TUNA!!!

by Jeffrey L.

Please comment to tell me what's wrong with my page.

Bluefin tuna

LINK

lc=least concern

nt=not threatened

cd=conversation dependent

VU=vulnerable

EN=endangered

CR=critically endangered

EW=extict in wild

EX=see above

I chose Blue fin tuna because they are an endangered species and people should start knowing that it is.

The Blue Fin Tuna lives around Japan, the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. This fish used to live all around the Pacific Ocean, but it was fished until the blue fin tuna is critically endangered.

This fish can be up to 5 meters long (15 feet)! That about 2 Yao Ming’s! And it could be up to 1,500 pounds! Just because of the size of this fish, it can be up to 100,000 US dollars. Now, what can you do with $100,000? Buy 100 high tech computers? Buy 1,000 Wiis? Or buy 1 Blue fin Tuna?

Blue fin tuna have been eaten by humans for centuries. However, in the 1970s, demand and prices for large blue fins soared worldwide, particularly in Japan, because the Japanese loved this fish for making sushi and sashimi, and commercial fishing operations found new ways to find and catch these giants. As a result, blue fin stocks, especially of large, breeding-age fish, and international conservation efforts have led to curbs on commercial takes. At least one group says illegal fishing in Europe has pushed the Atlantic blue fin populations there to the brink of extinction.

Blue fins attain their enormous size by gorging themselves almost constantly on smaller fish, crustaceans, squid, and eels. They will also feed on zooplankton and other small organisms and have even been observed eating kelp.

The spawning season for most species begins in June with huge schools of tuna moving toward the Mediterranean coastline. Some have observed thousands of these fish traveling together during this time period with determination that even over rides their need to feed. Once they have reached their destination they will establish their feeding grounds and begin the mating process. After mating the females will deposit small eggs that tend to develop rapidly. The juveniles will appear in around two days and begin immediately to feed. Yes, 2 days. As the cooler months of fall close in the juveniles, which by now are quite large due to the speed at which they grow, will move away from the adults and migrate to the open ocean to feed. During the spawning season fishermen move in to grab large catches of this tasty fish which it is feared will eventually decrease the tuna numbers due to over fishing. Although much is known about the migration habits and spawning habits of this fish, very little is known concerning where they spend the time outside of these activities. It is known that the blue fin tuna can live up to forty years and is by far the most traveled occupant of the ocean. Studies have shown that this fish is capable of covering the entire span of the Atlantic Ocean in less than fifty days. This would make the blue fin tuna one of the fastest moving fish in the ocean. The main predators of the blue fin tuna are the killer whale that usually captures this great fish during the migration periods when it is swimming in open water.

Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefin_tuna

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/bluefin-tuna.html

left: Fishing boats can catch a whole school of blue fin tuna, like this one(This is a reason why Blue fin tuna is critically endangered)