ALBACORE (Thunnus alalunga)
◎Streamlined body tapers from head to tail; finlets, dusky in coloration, are present between dorsal and anal fins and the caudal fin; pectoral fin is extremely long, extending past the start of the anal fin; coloration is dark blue on top fading to a silvery white sides and belly; first dorsal fin is yellow.
◎Similar Fish: similar to other tunas, but easily distinguishable by extremely long pectoral fins.
◎Size: up to 90 pounds; average size 25 ~ 45 pounds.
BIGEYE TUNA (Thunnus obesus)
◎Streamlined body tapers from head to tail; finlets, which are yellow tinged by black, are present between dorsal and anal fins and the caudal fin; dorsal and anal fins tend to be yellow in color; pectoral fin is long, extending rearward just to the start of the second dorsal fin; coloration is dark blue on top fading along the sides to a white belly; first gill arch has 25~ 29 gillrakers; eye is larger relative to the size of the head than for either bluefin or yellowfin tuna.
◎Similar Fish: closely related and similar in appearance to Bluefin Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna; see descriptions of Bluefin Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna for distinguishing characteristics.
◎Size: up to 375 pounds; average size ranges from 100 ~ 250 pounds.
BLUEFIN TUNA ((Horse Mackerel) Thunnus thynnus)
◎Streamlined body tapering from head to tail; small finlets, usually tinged yellow, are present between dorsal and anal fins and the caudal fin; pectoral fin is short; coloration is dark blue to nearly black on top, fading along the sides with a white belly; often several series of small, very light-colored spots are present on the belly.
◎Similar Fish: closely related and similar in appearance to Yellowfin Tuna and Bigeye Tuna; distinguishable from both species by 1) short pectoral fin, which does not extend rearward on its body to the start of the second dorsal fin (pectoral fin extends at least this far on both yellowfin and bigeye tuna), and 2) the gillrakers on first gill arch (bluefin tuna have 34 ~ 43 gillrakers on arch, while yellowfins have 27 ~ 33 gillrakers and big-eyes have 25 ~ 29 gillrakers).
◎Size: up to 1400 pounds; average size ranges from 30 ~ 150 pounds.
LITTLE TUNNY ((False Albacore) Euthynnus alletteratus)
◎Streamlined body shape tapering from head to tail; small finlets are present between dorsal and anal fins and the upright tail (caudal fin); coloration is dark greenish or dark greenish blue along the top and upper sides fading to silvery below; wavy stripes are present on the rear portion of the back (above the lateral line) and several dark spots appear below the base of the pectoral fin; caudal peduncle keel is present.
◎Similar Fish: Atlantic Bonito and Skipjack Tuna; distinguishable by location and placement of stripes on body.
◎Size: up to 35 pounds; average size ranges from 10 ~ 15 pounds.
SKIPJACK TUNA ((Oceanic Bonito, Skippy) Euthynnus pelamis)
◎Streamlined body shape tapering from head to tail; small finlets are present between dorsal and anal fins and the caudal fin; coloration is dark blue to bluish black on the top fading to silvery on the belly; 4 to 6 horizontal stripes run along the lower sides and belly; caudal peduncle keel is present.
◎Similar Fish: Little Tunny and Atlantic Bonito; distinguishable by location and placement of stripes on body.
◎Size: up to 40 pounds; average size ranges from 5 ~ 15 pounds.
YELLOWFIN TUNA ((Allison Tuna) Thunnus albacares)
◎Streamlined body tapering from head to tail; finlets, colored yellow, are present between dorsal and anal fins and the caudal fin; second dorsal and anal fin tend to be elongated (particularly on larger fish) and are colored yellow; pectoral fin is long, extending past the start of the second dorsal fin; coloration is dark blue on the top, fading along the sides with golden or yellow highlights to a light colored belly.
◎Similar Fish: closely related and similar in appearance to Bluefin Tuna and Bigeye Tuna; distinguishable from both species by 1) length of pectoral fin, which extends rearward past start of second dorsal fin (pectoral fin on bluefin tuna does not extend to start of second dorsal fin, while on bigeye tuna it extends just to the start of second dorsal fin); and, 2) its liver, which has a smooth surface on all sides and is not symmetrical in shape (both bluefin and bigeye tuna have livers which are striated on one side, which is caused by blood vessels just under the surface of the liver, and are symmetrically shaped); distinguishable from bluefin tuna by number of gillrakers on first gill arch (yellowfin tuna have 27 ~ 33 gillrakers on gill arch, while bluefin tuna have 34 ~ 43 gillrakers); often, the very similar appearance of bigeye and yellowfin tuna necessitates examination of the liver for a positive identification.
◎Size: up to 385 pounds; average size ranges from 30 - 80 pounds.