Tuna Types - About the Skipjack Tuna

Tuna Types: Skipjack Tuna Facts

Tuna Types: All about Skipjack Tuna

As far as seafood goes, tuna is one of the most popular types in the world. There are many varieties and types of tuna that are consumed by millions daily, which means that a lot of people probably want to know a little about this food. If you are reading this article, you may be one of those people. And if you are a fan of seafood, then trying out and sampling different types of tuna is probably appealing to you. I know it is to me! This article will focus on one type of tuna, the skipjack tuna, and will give you plenty of skipjack tuna facts and other information for you.

Skipjack Tuna Facts: Japanese Cuisine
The Japanese have a special love for tuna and consume a lot of different varieties as a part of their seafood-based diet. The skipjack tuna is no exception. The Japanese call skipjack tuna “katsuo”, and they smoke and dry the fish to produce “katsuobushi”. They then use this katsuobushi to make “dashi”, or what they call fish stock. This tuna is also a key ingredient in “katsuo no shiokara”, which is a food made from fermented seafood. The taste is similar to that of anchovies, and is definitely an acquired taste (even for the Japanese!). But it is considered a delicacy in many places in that country.

Skipjack Tuna Facts: Habitat and Environment
The skipjack tuna is a pelagic fish, which means it lives in surface waters and not at the bottom of oceans or lakes. This, plus the fact that it travels in large shoals with up to 50,000 fish, makes the skipjack tuna fairly easy to capture for Tuna Fishing. The skipjack tuna feeds on smaller fish and crustaceans, like most tuna, but it itself is prey for larger fish and sharks that inhabit the same environment. This is probably due to the small size – no more than one meter in length – of the skipjack tuna. In terms of water temperature, the skipjack tuna prefers water from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit), although some have been seen in temperatures as low as 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). This temperature range largely keeps them out of the cold waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.

Skipjack Tuna Facts: Hawaiian Cuisine
Like the Japanese, natives of Hawaii love most varieties of tuna, which forms a significant portion of the native Hawaiian diet. Skipjack tuna is known in Hawaii as “aku”, and is known for its prominent taste. The pronounced taste, while popular in Hawaii, may not be as popular elsewhere. Hawaiians like to cook aku by broiling it over hot coals in an open flame, sauteing it, or pan-frying skipjack tuna fillets (which are a deep red color while raw and lighten as they are cooked). Skipjack tuna is also eaten raw, much like sushi, although bluefin and yellowfin tuna are more commonly used in sashimi and other forms of sushi. The eggs (roe) of the skipjack tuna are also desirable and are considered a delicacy along with the fish meat itself.


Now you know all about skipjack tuna. The next time you are in Japan or Hawaii (or anywhere else that has this delicious fish), just ask for skipjack tuna and you will not be disappointed.

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Bluefin Tuna Facts

Tuna Types:Four Intriguing Bluefin Tuna Facts

When you were a kid, you probably at one point or the other had a tuna sandwich (unless you are allergic to fish, of course). Millions of people all over the world eat tuna fish on a daily basis, yet the average person does not really know much about the fish that they are consuming. Did you know, for example, that the bluefin tuna can swim at speeds up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h)? This article will address this issue by sharing with you four intriguing bluefin tuna facts that will shed a little light on a not-so-little fish.

Bluefin Tuna Facts #1: Warm Blooded Fish

Most fish are cold-blooded, in that they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Reptiles and amphibians are like this as well. Bluefin tuna, however, are warm-blooded, which means they can control their body temperature like mammals, which allows them to live in environments that they would not be able to inhabit otherwise. They accomplish this by using special organs located near their muscles that take cold blood from the veins and heat it (basically speaking). This process allows bluefin tuna to be warmer than the surrounding water by as much as 36 degrees Fahrenheit - which is great for those trips through the cold north Atlantic.

Bluefin Tuna Facts #2: Large and In Charge

Believe it or not, and contrary to popular opinion, tuna are not small. Bluefin tuna definitely are not – these fish normally grow to be between 6.5 and 14 feet in length, and can weigh around 750-800 pounds. The largest bluefin tuna specimen ever caught, though, blows most bluefin tuna out of the water. This fish weighed in at an incredible and jaw-dropping 1,500 pounds – which is enough for 4,000 6-ounce cans of tuna.

Bluefin Tuna Facts #3: Where They Live

Bluefin tuna are generally divided into three types based on where they are primarily found: Pacific bluefin, northern bluefin tuna, and southern bluefin tuna. They can be found in just about every major body of water, though, and frequently migrate as far as 6,000 miles away from their spawning location. They also use their powerful muscles and streamlined bodies to dive to depths as far down as 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), where they feast on smaller fish, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and squid.

Bluefin Tuna Facts #4: Bluefin Tuna as Food

Bluefin tuna is quite popular all across the world as one of the most preferred types of tuna out there. While similar in taste to other types, for the most part, bluefin tuna has a distinct taste that makes it more desirable than other types of tuna – and also more expensive. In Japan, for example, bluefin tuna is considered a delicacy, and comprises most of the tuna you will see at a sushi bar (with yellowfin tuna being another popular choice). Of course, you can also find bluefin tuna in other places – even your supermarket, if you are lucky.

Well, there you are. Now, with these bluefin tuna facts, you are better acquainted with the bluefin tuna, one of the most popular and most desirable types of tuna in the sea. So, the next time you take a bite into a tuna salad sandwich, or sample some delicious sushi, think of these bluefin tuna facts – and enjoy the flavor!

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