Tunas and mackerels
Bluefin, yellowfin and skipjack, the Indian mackerel and seer fish. 24 fish on EveryFish so far.
The mackerel family, Scombridae, holds about 50 species of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and Spanish mackerels. They are built for speed: torpedo-shaped bodies, a crescent tail on a slim base, fins that fold into grooves and a row of small finlets near the tail. Tunas keep their muscles warmer than the sea, which lets them cruise fast in cold water and cross whole oceans.
Bluefin, yellowfin and skipjack
The Atlantic bluefin can grow to about 3 metres and more than 600 kg, and it crosses the Atlantic to spawn in the Gulf of Mexico or the Mediterranean. Skipjack is the most caught tuna, mostly canned. Yellowfin and bigeye are sold fresh and frozen. Bluefin stocks were heavily overfished in the late 20th century, then recovered in the Atlantic under strict quotas. In the Indian Ocean, scientists of the regional tuna commission have reported yellowfin as overfished since 2015.
India's mackerels and seer fish
The Indian mackerel, bangda or ayala, is one of the most eaten fish on India's coasts, caught by purse seines and ring seines in large schools. The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, the seer fish, called surmai, vanjaram, neymeen or anjal, is among the most prized and costly fish in Indian markets. Lakshadweep and the Andaman Islands have tuna fisheries, and India has been trying to grow its deep-sea tuna catch.
Famous tuna fish
Still to be written: Atlantic bluefin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna, Southern bluefin tuna, Yellowfin tuna, Skipjack tuna, Indian mackerel.
Further reading
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Atlantic mackerel: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel: ppericard, CC BY 4.0, source