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TM it is not solid to ID tuna on the gill rake as there are 18 to 22 gill rakers on the first gill arch of a Bigeye Tuna. There will be 24 to 28 gill rakers on a Bluefin Tuna, and 27 to 33 gill rakers on a Yellowfin and Slenders and SBFT fit in between. Where external examination cannot be 100% the leading authourities use internal organ inspection of which the liver is the easiest, a lot of cape fishermen make assumptions and I have had this plenty on my boat, but the only solid way of ID on Tuna is with the liver and other internal organs. I often have a marine biologist on my boat and he often proves me wrong on my first assumptions with ID, but the depth you were fishing at - unlikely to be a YFT. That is an awesome fish, what I am interested in is have you caught any Broadbill yet? we have tried and only had one at the boat! The credit for this is to Dennis Albert - I hope he does not mind! "Description: The body of the bigeye tuna is cigar-shaped (tapered at both ends). The head is pointed and the eye is relatively large. The color is dark metallic brownish blue to dark yellow on the back becoming gray or whitish below. There often is a bluish stripe on the side. In most individuals, the length of the pectoral fins should enable one to identify the species properly. Both bigeye and yellowfin tuna look similar, but bigeye tuna have pectoral fins which extend well past their anal fin, while yellowfin tuna have much shorter pectoral fins. Tuna which cannot be distinguished by external characteristics can be positively identified by liver characteristics. Bigeye tuna livers are striated (covered with blood vessels) along the trailing edges, while yellowfin tuna livers are smooth. Small bigeye tuna also may be distinguished from albacore by the characteristics of the liver. The liver is heavily striated in the albacore while the bigeye tuna liver is only striated along the trailing edges.
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Topic: CAPE Offshore - Whatsup?! (Read 166763 times)
