Skipjack tuna

Skipjack tuna or Katsuwonus pelamis have been harvested in the eastern Pacific by commercial bait boats since the early 1900s, and later by commercial purse seine, gilinet, troll fisheries and recreational fisheries. It is one of the most abundant pelagic tuna species.

Skipjack - leaner than albacore tune; it is the most commonly used tuna for canning.

Skipjack tuna occur throughout the tropical, subtropical waters and warm temperate waters of all oceans. They are two stock structures hypothesized for Pacific skipjack tuna, a single stock with isolated subgroups two or more different stocks.

Katsuwonus pelamis

They are common throughout the tropical Atlantic south to Argentina and may range as far as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in summer months.

Skipjack tuna can attain a maximum of 40 to 45 inches in length but are commonly between 16 and 28 inches long and weigh for 5 to 15 pounds. Skipjack tuna feeding is opportunistic on fish, crustaceans and cephalopods.
Skipjack tuna

Light tuna

Skipjack - leaner than albacore tune; it is the most commonly used tuna for canning. Skipjack tuna are highly migratory and have been fished by any different countries such as the US, Mexico, Ecuador, France and Spain.

Skipjack tuna

Yellowfin – larger and leaner than albacore; it has pale pink flesh and is the second most popular species of tuna used in canning.  It is found throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical seas, except the Mediterranean.

It is canned and marketed as light tuna, but it is also an important component of sushi and sashimi.

Bigeye – similar to yellowfin; it has a milder flavor than skipjack or yellowfin and is frequently used in canning. It is a tropical and subtropical species with separate stocks in the Atlantic, India, Western and Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

Together yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna account for most of the world’s canned light tuna, but chunk light tuna may refer to a number of species: bigeye, yellowfin, skipjack or tongol tuna.
Light tuna