Thunnus

are a truly international fish. Unlike many schooling species that live along the coast, bluefin are migratory, swimming from one side of the ocean to the other several times a year, as demonstrated in Figure 1. They are constantly on the move, reaching speeds up to fifty miles per hour, giving them the muscular flesh humans demand so highly. They reside in every ocean on Earth: Atlantic bluefin in the Atlantic, Pacific bluefin near East Asian shores, and Southern bluefin around Australia. Tuna are some of the only warm-blooded fish, able control their own homeostatic conditions, meaning they can sustain extreme temperatures from the Baltic Sea to the warm tropics of Indonesia (Block et al. 1121). Bluefin tuna is the largest of its genus Thunnus, which also includes Albacore, ‘ahi tuna, and Yellowfin, but also has the largest geographical distribution of any large pelagic fish (Laiz-Carrión 2). The widespread, migratory nature of this magnificent fish makes it difficult to regulate its fishing. Big net fisherman scrape the oceans clean in search of bluefin, albeit not always legally. Overfishing is largely due to pirates and fishing past quotas (Miller). The demand for this fish is so great, it outweighs the possibility of maintaining steady regulations. Fishers have hunting bluefin tuna down to a science. Their breeding and migration patterns, along with the seasonality of their location of remains consistent year after year (Golet et al. 391). Bluefin tuna, like many…

Bluefin tuna have suffered major population declines due to overfishing. Recent scientific research discusses various ways to implement management techniques to target the rapid declining population levels of Bluefin Tuna. However, much of this research demonstrates a substantial level of uncertainty about the basic biology of Bluefin Tuna. In particular, a lack of knowledge about the migratory patterns of Bluefin Tuna hinders the success of many proposed management techniques. Thus, it is…

Blue whales are interesting animals. The physical characteristics of blue whales set them apart from many animals. The habits of blue whales, including their diet, migration, and mating, are unique. The endangerment of blue whales has been a changing topic over the years. Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth today, they even beat the dinosaurs. A blue whale weighs about 200 pounds and it’s length is about 3 school buses back to back, meaning it can range from 82 to 105 feet.…