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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
Τόννος ερυθρός

Sustainability Status

High level of heavy metals

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation
Bad choice –Consumption of this species is unsustainable
Health concerns –Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Legal

Minimum Size

115 cm (length until the center fork of the tail) or 30 kg

Prohibited Consumption Period

January – December or until the national quota is exhausted

Sustainable

Minimum Size

115 cm (length until the center fork of the tail) or 30 kg

Avoid Consumption Period

Year round

Advice for Consumption

Do Not Consume

This species is severely overexploited. Choosing not to purchase or consume it is essential to support the recovery and long-term sustainability of its populations. Many national and international public health authorities advise limiting the consumption of bluefin tuna because it bioaccumulates high concentrations of methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin associated with significant health risks.

If you choose to consume this species, always respect the recommended sustainable minimum size.

Archipelagos Tips

Many brands of canned tuna do not contain bluefin tuna, but instead use other, more sustainable tuna species that are also a much safer choice for public health, as they accumulate significantly lower levels of heavy metals.

Always check the back of the packaging for the scientific name of the fish. For example, in Greece, many canned tuna products contain skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), which is generally considered a more sustainable alternative to bluefin tuna.

Common names

FR

Thon rouge

it

Tonno rosso

es

Atún de aleta azul

tr

Orkinos

pt

Atum-rabilho

nl

Blauwvintonijn

de

Atlantischer blauflossen Thun

toxicity

This species can bioaccumulate high level of heavy metal.

iucn info

Endangered (EN)

Description

Large streamline fish, up to 300 cm in length. The body is deepest near the middle of the first dorsal fin. The second dorsal fin is higher than the first. The pectoral fins are very short, less than 80% of head length. The tail is crescent-shaped. Lower sides and ventral area are silvery white with colorless transverse lines alternated with rows of colorless dots. Dark blue dorsal colouring.

It looks like Thunnus tonggol (Longtail tuna), which is sometimes called the Northern bluefin tuna in Australia, and other tuna-like species like the Euthynnus affinis (Kawakawa) and Auxis thazard (Frigate tuna).

Did you know?

Bluefin tuna are the largest of the tuna family, weighing up to 678 kilograms, living up to 40 years, and are capable of diving deeper than 900 meters!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous, opportunistic.
It attacks any smaller animal nearby.

habitat

Oceanic but seasonally coming close to shore. They are highly migratory and fast swimmers.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 458 cm
Max weight: 684 kg
Depth range: 0-1000 m

breeding & Growth

They are fundamentally gonochoristic (distinct sexes). In the Eastern Atlantic/Mediterranean stocks spawn from June to August. Adult growth is considerably slower, with about 10 years needed to reach two thirds of maximum length.
Growth rate: Slow (k = 0.09yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 35-40 years
Max reported age: 40 years
Distribution: Trans-Atlantic movements related to feeding have been reported; juveniles originating from the Mediterranean Sea found in foraging grounds in the eastern coast of the USA, conversely, juveniles originating from the Western Atlantic have been found in foraging grounds in the central North Atlantic.

appearance changes

They undergo dramatic physical and sensory changes during wild ontogeny, transforming from unpigmented 3 mm larvae into oceanic giants.

Reproductive Cycle

Females reach sexual maturity at around 4 to 8 years. A single mature female produces 10 to 45 million eggs per spawning batch, which can total up to 540 million eggs annually depending on her size.
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Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms