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Katsuwonus pelamis  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Skipjack tuna
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Katsuwonus pelamis
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New Zealand country information

Common names: Bonito, Skipjack, Skipjack tuna
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: abundant (always seen in some numbers) | Ref: Armitage, R.O., D.A. Payne, G.J. Lockley, H.M. Currie, R.L. Colban, B.G. Lamb and L.J. Paul (eds.), 1994
Importance: commercial | Ref: Armitage, R.O., D.A. Payne, G.J. Lockley, H.M. Currie, R.L. Colban, B.G. Lamb and L.J. Paul (eds.), 1994
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Found around New Zealand in summer south to Cook Strait (Ref. 9258). Main fishing grounds are to the northeast and west of the North Island (Ref. 9258). Seasonal from November to June, with peak landings January to March (Ref. 9258). Voucher specimen(s) held at the NMNZ. Also Ref. 168, 89192, 89423.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.fish.govt.nz/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan, 1989
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

鲣, Тунец полосатый (=скипджек), Listao, ... more

Main reference

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen. 1983. (Ref. 168)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 110 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 89423); common length : 80.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168); max. published weight: 34.5 kg (Ref. 168); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 168)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 40.0, range 40 - 45 cm

Environment

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 260 m (Ref. 9340), usually 0 - ? m (Ref. 55287)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 15°C - 30°C (Ref. 168), preferred 27°C (Ref. 107945); 63°N - 47°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution

Cosmopolitan in tropical and warm-temperate waters. Not found in the Black Sea. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15; Vertebrae: 41. Interpelvic process small and bifid. Body without scales except for the corselet and the lateral line. Swim bladder absent. The back is dark purplish blue, lower sides and belly silvery, with 4 to six very conspicuous longitudinal dark bands which in live specimens may appear as continuous lines of dark blotches.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in offshore waters; larvae restricted to waters with surface temperatures of 15°C to 30°C (Ref. 6390). Exhibit a strong tendency to school in surface waters with birds, drifting objects, sharks, whales and may show a characteristic behavior like jumping, feeding, foaming, etc. Feed on fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods and mollusks; cannibalism is common. Spawn throughout the year in the tropics, eggs released in several portions (Ref. 35388). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Preyed upon by large pelagic fishes (Ref. 6885). Also taken by trolling on light tackle using plugs, spoons, feathers, or strip bait (Ref. 9684). Marketed fresh, frozen or canned (Ref. 9340); also dried-salted and smoked (Ref. 9987).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | RFE Identification | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 4.4   ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.3-0.5; tm=2-3; tmax=12; Fec=80,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 High