Ahi Tuna are widely known as Yellowfin tuna. They were first described in the year 1788 by Bonnaterre. There scientific name is Scomber albacares. They are very popular in the Hawaiian region so the name. There are several amazing recipes with the Ahi tuna.

Here are some interesting things about Ahi tuna that most people are unaware of:

They are white fleshed tuna mainly found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. They are pretty big in shape and can weigh upto 400lb but are significantly smaller in size compared to the blue finned tuna of pacific and Atlantic.

The Ahi tuna are highly migratory fishes. There are little symbols of long range migration like east-west or north-south travelling. There are signs of genetic exchange between central, western and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Ahi tuna are epipelagic, ocean creatures that avoid the thermo cline and stay beyond or below the temperature of 65 to 88’F. They generally show up in the upper 100 m of the water column.

The Ahi Tuna has a tendency to school with creatures of similar size. The sometimes make their way to mixed schools of big eye, skipjack and different tunas. In the eastern pacific they are seen to school with the dolphins especially with the spinner and the spotted dolphins.

They generally love to school under objects that drift along like bunches of sea grass, driftwood, dead marine animals or a drowned boat. They prefer drift objects as they provide protection from predators. They use the object as a breeding ground or even as a cleaning station. It may also act as a schooling companion.

The yellowfin tuna do not have scales behind their corselet. They feature a band of big scales that form a circular patch around the body, at the back of the head. They are featured with a swim bladder as well. They have small conical teeth.

The top portion of a yellowfin tuna is greenish or dark blue while the abdominal side is silvery white in color, interrupted by several vertical lines. There is a vivid golden stripe running along the side line of their bodies. Their second anal and dorsal fins are yellow in colour and hence the name.

The reported size of a normal Ahi tuna ranges from 94 inches in length to 440 lb in weight. The International Game Fish Association holds the record of a 176 kg Ahi tuna caught in the year 1977, in the Pacific of Mexico, near the San Benedicto Island.

The Ahi tuna is a favourite host to about forty parasites which include flukes, protozoan, tissue flukes, tapeworms, gill worms, round worms isopods as well as some fishes like the cookie-cutter shark and pilot fish.

The Ahi tuna are common targets of the commercial fishermen of U.S. The rate of yellow fin tuna catches has grown beyond 45% in the North Atlantic. When in the surface, they are caught with the help of the purse-seine.

The Hawaii Seafood Buyers Guide offers a wide range of Ahi tuna recipes especially for raw fish dishes such as sashimi. The fish is perfect for grilling and can be seared rare.