Bullet tuna (Auxis rochei) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of ≥ 10 m.
Scientific name: Auxis rochei · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 50 cm
The bullet tuna is a pelagic neritic scombrid whose adults are principally caught in coastal waters and around islands, and it forms schools. It feeds on small fishes, particularly anchovies, on crustaceans especially crab and stomatopod larvae, and on squids, and its eggs and larvae are pelagic. Because of its abundance it is considered an important element of the food web, particularly as forage for other species of commercial interest. It is recorded from 10 m downwards, with no maximum depth recorded for it, and it also enters brackish water. Its range is the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific oceans including the Mediterranean Sea, with the eastern Pacific population recognised as a separate subspecies, and it is highly migratory. Maximum length is about 50 cm fork length, and it can live five years. It is a highly commercial species and a gamefish, marketed fresh and frozen and also dried or salted, smoked and canned, with a very high price category. Fishing vulnerability is low to moderate at 27 of 100 and resilience medium, and climate vulnerability is moderate at 38 of 100. IUCN lists it as least concern.
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