How many kinds of tuna are there, and which kind makes up the biggest catch?
There are seven commercial and sport-caught tunas, as well as several related species, all of which are members of what is called the scombrid family. Commercially caught tunas consist of albacore, bigeye, blackfin, bluefin, bonito, skipjack, and yellowfin. Yellowfin, taken in the eastern Pacific and tropical Atlantic, makes up the biggest U.S. commercial catch. Albacore, caught in the eastern Pacific, is the true “white-meat” tuna; skipjack, caught throughout the world in tropical and subtropical waters, makes up the second largest U.S. commercial catch; bigeye is caught mostly in tropical waters; blackfin is caught commercially only in the Caribbean and off South America; the very large bluefin (rod-and-reel record, 1,040 pounds) is a highly prized sport catch in the Atlantic and Pacific; and the widely distributed bonito is used largely as pet food. Albacore Bigeye Skipjack Do tunas have scales? Yes, all species do, but scales are so small over most of the body as to be nearly invis
There are seven commercial and sport-caught tunas, as well as several related species, all of which are members of what is called the scombrid family. Commercially caught tunas consist of albacore, bigeye, blackfin, bluefin, bonito, skipjack, and yellowfin. Yellowfin, taken in the eastern Pacific and tropical Atlantic, makes up the biggest U.S. commercial catch. Albacore, caught in the eastern Pacific, is the true “white-meat” tuna; skipjack, caught throughout the world in tropical and subtropical waters, makes up the second largest U.S. commercial catch; bigeye is caught mostly in tropical waters; blackfin is caught commercially only in the Caribbean and off South America; the very large bluefin (rod-and-reel record, 1,040 pounds) is a highly prized sport catch in the Atlantic and Pacific; and the widely distributed bonito is used largely as pet food.
