Many people say that tuna is the king of the sea. That statement is said with some reasons including the amazing amount we can find in the sea until the size of tuna that may surprise you. Starting in 18th century people caught tuna, and nowadays people catch a thousand tonnes of tuna in a year.
Tuna becomes the most commercial catch from the sea around the world. Then it is packed in a can that we can easily find in grocery stores. Tuna is a healthy canned food that is why the demand for canned tuna in a year is very high.
Types of Tuna and Its Different Sizes
Are you one of the tuna lovers? If the answer is yes, you need to know the types of tuna that are mostly used as canned tuna and their sizes. There are 15 types of tuna in the ocean, but here we will just explore the most common tuna used for canned tuna.
- Yellowfin tuna
One of the most caught tuna for canned tuna is yellowfin tuna. Just like the name, this tuna has yellowfins. This type of tuna mostly lives in the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, especially in warm waters around Thailand and the Philippines.
Yellowfin tuna can grow up to 6 feet long and can be weight up to 200 pounds. Besides canned tuna, this yellowfin tuna is also used to make sushi and for grilling.
- Albacore tuna
Albacore tuna might be smaller than other species of tuna. The shape of this tuna seems like a bullet and they can live up to 12 years. Albacore tuna mostly lives in the Pacific Ocean but you still can find it in Californian waters up to British Columbian waters.
This tuna is called a chicken at the sea because of the huge amount of albacore tuna that is used for canned food. The albacore tuna can grow up to 4,7 feet long and weigh around 80 pounds.
- Mackerel tuna
You might be familiar with this kind of tuna because it is sold a lot in the market. Unlike other types of tuna that are big, mackerel tuna comes in a small size.
Mackerel tuna can grow up to 100 cm long and weigh up to 20 kg, but the common size and weight for mackerel tuna are 60 cm long and 3 kg of weight. Fishermen usually use mackerel tuna as a bite to catch bigger fish.
- Skipjack tuna
Skipjack tuna comes with many different names such as tongkol, balaya, arctic bonito, striped tuna, and mush mouth tuna. The male skipjack tuna can grow up to 1.1 meters and weigh up to 34.5 kg but the common size and weight of this tuna are 50 cm long and 2.5 kg.
Skipjack tuna becomes the most caught tuna as the population of this tuna is stable. Female skipjack tuna can produce around 100.000 up to 2 million eggs in one prawn. This tuna will usually swim near the water surface at night and will swim deeper up to 850 feet during the day.