FAO/SIDP Species Identification Sheets Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788) FAO Names EN - Albacore; FR - Germon; SP - Atún blanco. Scientific Name with Reference Scomber alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788, Tableau Encyclopédique et Méthodique, Ichthyologie:139 (Sardinia). Synonyms Scomber alatunqa Gmelin, 1789; Scomber germo Lacepéde, 1800; Orcynus germon Cuvier, 1817; Orcynus alalonga Risso, 1826; Thynnus alalonga Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1831; Orcynus alatunga Gill, 1862; Thunnus alalonga South, 1845; Orcynus pacificus Cooper, 1863; Orcynus germo Lutken, 1880; Germo alalonga Jordan, 1888; Albacora alalonga Dresslar & Fesler, 1889; Germo alalunga Jordan & Evermann, 1896; Thynnus alalunga Clarke, 1900; Germo germon Fowler, 1905; Germo germo Jordan & Seale, 1906; Thunnus alalunga Jordan, Tanaka, & Snyder, 1913; Thunnus germo Kishinouye, 1923; Germo germon steadi Whitley, 1933. Diagnostic Features A large species, deepest at a more posterior point than in other tunas (at, or only slightly anterior to, second dorsal fin rather than near middle of first dorsal fin base). Gillrakers 25 to 31 on first arch. Second dorsal fin clearly lower than first dorsal; pectoral fins remarkably long, usually 30% of fork length or longer in 50 cm or longer fish, reaching well beyond origin of second dorsal fin (usually up to second dorsal finlet). Fish smaller than 50 cm will have proportionately smaller pectorals than other tunas, i.e. T. obesus. Ventral surface of liver striated (vascular network). Swim bladder present, but poorly developed and not evident in fish smaller than about 50 cm fork length. Vertebrae 18 precaudal plus 21 caudal. Colour: a faint lateral iridescent blue band runs along sides in live fish; first dorsal fin deep yellow, second dorsal and anal fins light yellow, anal finlets dark; posterior margin of caudal fin white. Geographical Distribution Cosmopolitan in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans including the Mediterranean Sea extending north to 45° to 50° N and south to 30° to 40° S, but not at the surface between 10° N and 10° S. Habitat and Biology An epi- and mesopelagic, oceanic species, abundant in surface waters of 15.6° to 19.4° C; deeper swimming large albacore are found in waters of 13.5° to 25.2° C; temperatures as low as 9.5° C may be tolerated for short periods. In the Atlantic, the larger size classes (80 to 125 cm) are associated with cooler water bodies, while smaller individuals tend to occur in warmer strata. According to data piesently the opposite occurs in the northeastern Pacific. Albacore tend to concentrate along thermal discontinuities (oceanic fronts such as the Transition Zone in the north Pacific and the Kuroshio Front east of Japan) where large catches are made. The Transition Zones are preferred to cooler upwelling waters which are richer in forage organisms but poorer in oxygen content. Minimun oxygen requirements are probably similar to those of yellowfin tuna, that is about 2 ml/l. Albacore migrate within water masses rather than across temperature and oxygen boundaries. Throughout its range, the albacore migrates over great distances and appears to form separate groups at different stages of its life cycle. Several diverging, sometimes contradictory models have been suggested to portray these migrations. At least two stocks (northern and southern) are believed to exist in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, each with distinct spawning areas and seasons and with little or no interchange across the warm equatorial waters. The depth distribution in the Pacific ranges from the surface down to at least 380 m and is governed by the vertical thermal structures and oxygen contents of the water masses. In the Atlantic, for the same environmental determinants, albacore are believed to occur as deep as 600 m. Like other tunas, albacore, form schools with fewer fish, hence more compact units when composed of larger fish. They may also form mixed schools with skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna and bluefin tuna. Schools may be associated with floating objects, including sargassum weeds. Although fecundity does increase with size generally, there is no close relationship between fork length and ovary-weight and hence, number of eggs; a 20 kg female may produce between 2 and 3 million eggs per season, which are released at least in two batches. The sex ratio in catches is about 1:1 for immature specimens, but males predominate among mature fishes, which is possibly due to both differential mortality of sexes, and differential growth rate after maturity. Size Maximum fork length is 127 em. The all-tackle angling record is a 40 kg fish with a fork length of 123 em taken in the Canary Islands in 1977. In the Pacific surface fishery (pole-and-line, and troll fishery), smaller sizes (modes between 55 to 80 cm fork length) predominate, while longline fisheries take bigger fish (modes about 95 to 115 cm); in the Indian Ocean, common sizes range from 40 to 100 cm fork length (Silas & Pillai, 1982), while males up to 109 cm and females up to 106 cm are not exceptional in the Atlantic. In the Pacific, maturity may be attained at about 90 cm fork length in females and at about 97 cm in males; in the Atlantic it is reached at about 94 cm in both sexes. Interest to Fisheries Total production for Thunnus alalunga. Total capture for Thunnus alalunga. There are important fisheries for T. alalunga in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Catches have been reported from 15 FAO Fishing Areas by 15 countries in the period from 1974 to 1981. Along with increasing effort in the major fisheries, the world catch has been gradually declining from a peak of about 245 000 t in 1974 to a low of about 181 000 t in 1981 (FAO, 1981, 1983). More than half of the catch in the last years was taken in the Pacific, particularly in Fishing Areas 61, 77 and 81. The landings in Area 61 were almost exclusively made by Japanese vessels. More than 10 000 metric tons were reported in 1981 from two other fishing areas, namely Areas 27 (predominantly by Spain, while the French catch collapsed to less than one tenth of its previous level) and 47 (FAO, 1983). Albacore fisheries involve 4 basic types of fishing operations: longlining, live-bait fishing, trolling, and purse seining. Surface methods (trolling, purse-seining, live-bait) tend to take smaller fish than longlining. In recent years, boats and gear have been improved by introduction of longer vessels (trollers up to 22 m length), more modern boatbuilding materials (fiberglass, aluminium, etc.), larger ice storage or brine freezing capacities, better navigational aids and fish locating devices, and larger bait-holding capacities that increase the autonomy of the vessels. The most important albacore fisheries are the following:In the Pacific there are 5 major fisheries which are operational at various times of the year: - The Japanese live-bait fishery originates south of Japan and then develops offshore into the area of the Kuroshio Front. It extends from March through July, with a peak in June. - The Japanese longline fishery operates across the North Pacific throughout the year, although the best catches are obtained from December to February. - The US surface fishery from off Baja California to Canada attains its peak in August and September; fishing activities extend from June to December in the northern part of this area and from May to January in the southern part; 90% of catches are taken in waters of 15.6° to 19.4° C; catches of this fishery are believed to include fishes as young as one year of age, with only few mature adults. - Longline operations in the South Pacific between 10° and 40° S from Samoan and Japanese bases extend throughout the year with the peak season from August to February. - The New Zealand surface fishery, mostly in waters from 18.5° to 21.3° C, extends from January to April, with best catches usually in February. Albacore is also caught as a by-catch in the Hawaiian longline fishery for yellowfin and bigeye tuna. In the Indian Ocean, the fishery is barely developed, but areas of potentially successful exploitation, as derived from an assessment of favourable hydrographical conditions, are given in Sharp (1979). Up to the mid-sixties, catches in this area were taken exclusively by Japanese vessels, while in the late seventies, vessels from Taiwan, Province of China, were the most abundant, followed by boats from the Republic of Korea and Japan. In the Atlantic, there are at least 3 fisheries for albacore: - A trolling fishery dating back to the last century which has undergone mechanization of boats and gear and introduced on-board processing of fish It is operated primarily by Spanish and French vessels in the Bay of Biscay and the West European Basin. - A more recent pole-and-line fishery initiated after World War II by French and Spanish bait-boats in the Bay of Biscay and off northern Portugal; this activity is restricted to the summer months. A recent offshoot of this fishery, dating from 1970, is the seasonal pole-and-line activity in fall off Morocco by Azores- and Maideira-based Spanish and Portuguese vessels. - Seasonal summer and winter longline fisheries operating in different offshore areas in the northern and southern hemispheres. These fisheries were operated almost exclusively by long distance fleets from Japan up to 1970, but since that time vessels from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan Island are also participating. On a smaller scale, countries like Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela have entered this fishery. - The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 251 781 t. The countries with the largest catches were Japan (97 600 t) and Taiwan Province of China (64 302 t). Local Names ANGOLA : Avoador. ARGENTINA : Albacora. BRAZIL : Albacora branca. CANADA : Albacore, Germon atlantique. CHILE : Atún de aleta larga. COLOMBIA : Albacora. CUBA : Albacora. Albacora. ECUADOR : Atún. EGYPT : Tunna. GERMANY : Weisser Thun. GREECE : Tonnos macropteros. ISRAEL : Garmon. ITALY : Alalonga. JAPAN : Binnaga, Tonbo. KENYA : Jodari (Swahili) . KOREA REP : Nal-gae-da-raeng-i. MALTA : Ala-longa. MARTINIQUE : Germon. MEXICO : Albacora. MONACO : Ara-lunga. MOROCCO : Germon, Thone. NEW ZEALAND : Albacore tuna. Aáhi taria. PANAMA : Albacora. PERU : Albacora, Alalunga, Atún de aleta larga. POLAND : Germon. PORTUGAL : Albacora, Voador. PUERTO RICO : Albacora. ROMANIA : Ton cu inotatoare lungi. SENEGAL : Bonette. SOMALIA : Jodari (Swahili) . SOUTH AFRICA : Albacore, Albakoor, Langvin tuna, Longfin tunny. SPAIN : Albacora, Atún blanco. SWEDEN : Albakore. Chang chi we. TANZANIA : Jodari (Swahili) . TUNISIA : Ghzel. TURKEY : Yazili orkinos. Albacore. URUGUAY : Albacora. USA : Albacore, Hawaii: Ahipahala. Albakor, Belokrylyj tunets, Belyj tunets, Dlinnoperyj tunets. Albacora. VIET NAM : Cá ngir vay dài. YUGOSLAVIA : Silac. Literature Reference Postel (1963b); Yoshida & Otsu (1963); Fischer, ed. (1973, Species Identification Sheets, Mediterranean and Black Sea); Fischer & Whitehead, eds (1974, Species Identification Sheets, Eastern Indian Ocean/Western Central Pacific); Le Gall (1974); Collette (1978, Species Identification Sheets, Western Central Atlantic; 1981, Species Identification Sheets, Eastern Central Atlantic); Dotson (1980, describes methods and gear for northeast Pacific fleets); Foreman (1980, summarizes i.e. growth parameter estimates); Bard (1981, Ph.D.thesis); Le Gall (1981, bibliography). Remarks Note that the vernacular name "albacora" is used for swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in Chile, while it is commonly used for T. alalunga in other Spanish speaking countries, while in the eastern Atlantic "albacore" is used by francophones for the yellowfin tuna (T. albacares). Source of Information Collette, B.B. & C.E. Nauen, 1983. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop., (125)Vol.2:137 p. The "Interest to Fisheries" section has been updated according to recent FAO fishery statistics.