Fish
Southern Bluefin Tuna
Thunnus maccoyii
A powerful, cold-water tuna of the deep offshore Cape, dark blue above and prized as a heavyweight gamefish.
Also known as bluefin tuna, southern bluefin
- Typical size
- Commonly 1-1.8 m
- Habitat
- Deep cool offshore ocean
- Depth
- Surface to several hundred metres
The southern bluefin tuna is a heavy, deep-bodied tuna with a metallic blue-black back, silver flanks and short yellowish finlets edged in dark. Built for endurance in cool open ocean, it is one of the strongest fighting fish an angler can hook.
Around southern Africa it is a seasonal visitor to deep offshore waters off the Cape, following cool currents and feeding on baitfish and squid far from land. It is a globally overexploited species subject to strict international catch controls, so its status as a conservation-sensitive fish should temper any catch.