chases bait in the deep blue water

Size
Length: 80–120 cm, Weight: 10–30 kg
Lifespan
10–12 years
Diet
Feeds on 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
Human Risk
harmless
Handling Note
pelagic sport fish, powerful fighter handle with care
Conservation Note
Native migratory fish; not assessed by NZTCS as it is a highly mobile oceanic species.
Te Ao Māori
The Albacore Tuna has no widely recorded Māori name. It lives far offshore and was rarely encountered by traditional coastal fisheries. Today it is the fish of the blue water. It makes the long run offshore worthwhile. It fills the bin, the freezer and the pantry shelves with summer bounty. It represents the modern recreational challenge rather than traditional sustenance.
It does not settle down. The albacore is the wanderer of the tuna world. It 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. 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. 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. This often attracts 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. They hope 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. This is 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 sweep. It chases 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. It chases 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.