albacore, crosses the Pacific twice a year

Size
Length: 80–120 cm, Weight: 10–30 kg
Lifespan
10–12 years
Diet
Small fish, squid and crustaceans. Follows warm currents and schools of baitfish. Hunts in open water using speed to chase down prey. A prized game fish known for its long pectoral fins.
Habitat
Deep blue water beyond the continental shelf, from the surface down to about 300 metres. Follows warm currents and schools of baitfish. Highly migratory across the Pacific Ocean.
Range
Worldwide. In New Zealand, found off the west coast of the North Island in the Tasman Sea. Most common in deep blue water beyond the continental shelf, from the surface down to 300 metres.
Endemism
Native
Main Threats
Commercial overfishing, bycatch in longline fisheries and climate change affecting prey distribution. Pollution and plastic ingestion are risks. Populations considered stable in New Zealand waters due to management.
Population
Not Threatened. Albacore are one of the most abundant tuna species in New Zealand waters, particularly off the west coast of the North Island. They are a common catch for recreational anglers trolling the blue water in summer.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The wanderer of the tuna world. This fish holds a passport full of stamps. It has done more travelling than most people. It has seen more of the Pacific Ocean than anyone ever will. And it did it all with nothing but a streamlined body, a pair of absurdly long pectoral fins and an instinct to follow warm water across thousands of kilometres. The albacore is the wanderer of the tuna world, the one with no interest in settling down. A fish that is always on the move. It looks like a smaller, sleeker version of the yellowfin tuna. The back is dark metallic blue, while the belly is silvery. Those famously long pectoral fins sweep back past the dorsal fin. That is why some call it the longfin. The body is pure speed. It is smooth, muscular and perfectly tapered for chasing down squid and small fish in the open ocean. It feeds in surface schools, often attracting seabirds and dolphins that know a free meal when they see one. Off the west coast of the North Island, summer brings albacore into the Tasman Sea. Recreational anglers troll the blue water, hoping for a strike. When it comes, it is fast and hard. This is not a fish that gives up easily. The fight is brief but intense. Fresh albacore, grilled or seared, is excellent. The flesh is firm and pale with a clean flavour. But most of what New Zealand catches gets exported. It is turned into canned white tuna, the fancy stuff that costs more than the dark skipjack version. The local catch rarely stays local. The Tasman Sea is blue. The albacore swims, long fins sweeping, chasing squid. The lure drops. The fish strikes. It fights. It loses. It becomes canned tuna. It does not know it is fancy. It does not know it is exported. The process is industrial. It is already halfway across the Pacific, chasing the next warm current. The albacore does not care about any of that. It just wants to swim. The ocean is vast. It keeps going.