The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the aku, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna, or victor fish. It grows up to 1Â m (3Â ft) in length. It is a cosmopolitan pelagic fish found in tropical and warm-temperate waters. It is a very important species for fisheries.
It is a streamlined, fast-swimming pelagic fish, common in tropical waters throughout the world, where it inhabits surface waters in large shoals (up to 50,000 fish), feeding on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and molluscs. It is an important prey species for large pelagic fishes and sharks. It has no scales, except on the lateral line and the corselet (a band of large, thick scales forming a circle around the body behind the head). It commonly reaches fork lengths up to 80 cm (31 in) and a weight of 8–10 kg (18–22 lb). Its maximum fork length is 108 cm (43 in) and maximum weight is 34.5 kg (76 lb). Ageing skipjack tuna is difficult, and the estimates of its potential lifespan range between 8 and 12 years.
Skipjack tuna is a batch spawner. Spawning occurs year-round in equatorial waters, but it gets more seasonal further away from the equator. Fork length at first spawning is about 45Â cm (18Â in). It is also known for its potent smell.
It is an important commercial and game fish, usually caught using purse seine nets, and is sold fresh, frozen, canned, dried, salted, and smoked. With reported landings of almost 2.6 million tonnes, it was second only to the Peruvian anchoveta as the world's most important capture fish species in 2009. Countries recording large amounts of skipjack catches include the Maldives, France, Spain, Malaysia, Sri Lanka (බලයà·), and Indonesia.
- Euthynnus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Katsuwonus vagans (Lesson, 1829)
- Scomber pelamys Linnaeus, 1758
- Scomber pelamis Linnaeus, 1758
- Thynnus vagans Lesson, 1829
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