Common Name	Yellowfin Tuna	Conservation Notes
Scientific Name	Thunnus albacares	Sustainability Information
Market Names	Ahi, Tuna	Buying Tips
Sushi Name	Maguro, Toro	Health/Nutrition

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Yellowfin Tuna Market Alert - updated April 2012

Things have gone from bad to worse in the fresh and frozen tuna business. Good luck finding fish. And if you do find some, be prepared to pay a very, very high price.

On the frozen side of the business, U.S. imports of CO-treated steaks and fillets have plummeted. Last year, imports of treated yellowfin tuna fell almost 30 percent to just under 13,000 metric tons.  Thing were even worse this January as imports declined from 1,740 metric tons to just 34 metric tons – or just two containers. The word from Indonesia, which typically supplies about 60 percent of the supply (the Philippines and Vietnam are the other main suppliers), is that the fish are nowhere to be found.

Prices of frozen steaks, which had held relatively steady at about $5/lb. until last year, were more than $7/lb. this March and climbing. Retailers were more than a little surprised that a fish that had been a bread-and-butter item in their cases is suddenly nowhere to be found. If the fish don’t show up in Indonesia by June, the season will be a complete bust.

Imports of fresh yellowfin were also tight. January’s imports of just 1,000 metric tons, were down almost 30 percent from last January. With the exception of Sri Lanka, imports were down from almost every country across the board. The lack of fresh yellowfin has pushed prices of 2+ yellowfin loins above $15/lb.  

Conservation Notes

Life History/Inherent Vulnerability: Yellowfin tuna is widely distributed throughout tropical and sub-tropical oceans. They are highly fecund with a moderate lifespan, making them fairly resistant to fishing pressure.

Status of Stocks/Abundance: Once overfished, yellowfin tuna stocks are now at a medium abundance level. If current catch levels remain constant, the stocks are expected to stay healthy. However, yellowfin stocks in the Pacific won’t be able to sustain an increase in fishing pressure, according to the Seafood Choices Alliance. Yellowfin in the Indian Ocean is considered to be experiencing overfishing.

Fishing Impacts on Habitat: Slightly more than half of all tuna landed worldwide, including yellowfin, is caught with purse seines that have minimal impacts on ocean habitats. Smaller numbers of tuna are caught with longlines and pole-and-troll methods, which also do little damage to the ocean environment.

Bycatch, Nature and Extent: Bycatch in the yellowfin tuna fishery is high, and includes threatened and endangered marine mammals. Dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, other tuna, marlin, manta rays, wahoo, stingrays, and juvenile tunas are among the bycatch, which is increased with the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs). Longline fishermen are required to use circle hooks to increase bycatch survival, and attend workshops on how to handle and release animals. Although fishermen back down purse seine nets for dolphins to escape, they can still die from net canopy collapses and stress. The deaths are declining but dolphin populations haven’t yet recovered. Pole, troll, and handline tuna fishing methods produce little or no bycatch.

Management Effectiveness: Internationally, yellowfin are managed by regional fishery management organizations. Measures such as area closures, bycatch mitigation programs, quotas, and limits on fishing gear have been implemented by some of these organizations. Despite these measures, there is inadequate international scientific monitoring of yellowfin tuna catches and mortality rates.

Sustainability Information

	Seafood Watch	SeaChoice	FishWise	Blue Ocean Institute	New England Aquarium	Marine Stewardship Council
U.S. Atlantic, Western Pacific, U.S. Eastern Pacific & Gulf of Mexico Pole & Troll	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice	Green
U.S. Atlantic, U.S. Gulf of Mexico Handline	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice
Western Pacific Unassociated Purse Seine	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice	Light Green
Eastern and Central Pacific, Atlantic Imported, Indian Ocean Pole & Troll	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Green
Hawaii Pole & Troll	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Green
Eastern and Central Pacific, Atlantic & Indian Oceans Unassociated Purse Seine	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Light Green
U.S. Atlantic, U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii Longline	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Yellow
Eastern Pacific Dolphin Seine	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative
Worldwide Floating Object Purse Seine	Avoid	Avoid	Avoid	Light Green
Pacific & Atlantic Imported, Indian Ocean Longline	Avoid	Avoid	Avoid	Yellow

Rating Explanation

Seafood Watch rates U.S. Atlantic and U.S. Gulf of Mexico yellowfin tuna pole and troll and handline fisheries and U.S. Eastern Pacific yellowfin pole and troll fisheries as "Best Choice (green)." Seafood Watch rates imported Atlantic, Western & Central Pacific, and Indian Ocean troll and pole fisheries; Atlantic, Eastern, Western & Central Pacific, and Indian Ocean unassociated purse seine fisheries; and U.S. Atlantic, U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and Hawaii longline fisheries as "Good Alternative (yellow)." Seafood Watch rates Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean unassociated purse seine fisheries and Pacific, Imported Atlantic, and Indian Ocean longline fisheries as "Avoid (red). Blue Ocean Institute rates all yellowfin tuna pole and troll fisheries as "Green," all yellowfin tuna purse seine fisheries as "Light Green," and all yellowfin tuna longline fisheries as "Yellow."

Buying Tips

• Yellowfin tuna is available fresh, frozen, and canned. Canned yellowfin tuna is marketd as "light" tuna and is slightly darker than albacore
• Fresh and frozen yellowfin is sold to foodservice operators as loins and steaks
• Frozen yellowfin is commonly treated with carbon monoxide or tasteless smoke to prevent the red color of the fish from going brown
• If abused, carbon monoxide can be used to enhance the color of lower grade yellowfin
• Fresh yellowfin loins and steaks are rarely treated with carbon monoxide to maintain color
• While yellowfin tuna quality is difficult to determine due to subjective criteria, number 2 quality is usually adequate for the U.S. market while Number 1 quality is primarily exported to Japan
• Early fall is a good time to buy fresh yellowfin tuna, as demand drops and landings are normally still quite good
• The quality of pole and handline-caught yellowfin can suffer because the fish can "burn" themselves when they struggle as they are landed and will result in the fish having a very short shelf life

Nutrition and Health

*The U.S. FDA recommends that women should limit intake to 4 meals/month, men should limit intake 3 meals/month, children ages 6-12 should limit intake 2 meals/month, and children ages 0-6 should limit intake to 1 meal/month

Acknowledgements

• Seafood Watch by Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Blue Ocean Institute
• SeaChoice
• Seafood Choices Alliance
• Environmental Defense Fund
• NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service