Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) is a saltwater species recorded in Taiwan, Malaysia, United States. It is found at depths of 0–1500 m. The main season in Taiwan, Malaysia, United States runs spring, summer, autumn.
Scientific name: Thunnus obesus · Water: Saltwater · Season: Spring, Summer, Autumn
Size: up to 250 cm
The bigeye tuna is a scombrid that occurs where water temperatures range from 13 to 29 degrees Celsius, with an optimum between 17 and 22, and whose presence tracks seasonal and climatic changes in surface temperature and the thermocline. Juveniles and small adults school at the surface, in single-species groups or mixed with other tunas and sometimes in association with floating objects, while adults stay in deeper water; the eggs and larvae are pelagic. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and is absent from the Mediterranean, and it is a highly migratory species. In season in autumn, it ranges from the surface to about 1,500 m and usually within the top 500 m, reaching about 250 cm total length, commonly 180 cm fork length, and up to about 210 kg, and living about seventeen years. It is a highly commercial species and a game fish, selling in the highest price band. IUCN lists it as vulnerable. Trophic level is 4.5, fishing vulnerability high at 56 of 100, climate vulnerability moderate to high at 47, and resilience medium.
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