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Fish & Other Seafood

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

Also known as Striped Tuna or Stripies.

Skipjack Tuna are dark blue or purple on the back and silvery on their lower sides and belly.  They have three to five prominent, dark longitudinal bands on their lower sides.  These tuna have fine, slender teeth, a strong median keel on the caudal fin base between two small keels, and barely separated first and second dorsal fins.,   They have a total of 53-63 gill rakers on the first gill arch.

Skipjack tuna are widespread in Australia's oceanic waters.  The global distribution of skipjack tuna includes all tropical and subtropical waters except for the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.  They normally inhabit waters with surface temperatures of 20°C to 30°C.  However, adults are sometimes present waters as cold as 15°C.  Skipjack tuna also need a dissolved oxygen level of 2.5 ml per 1 of sea water to maintain a minimum swimming speed and require higher levels when active.   This requirement generally restricts skipjack tuna to water above the thermocline and in some areas, such as the eastern Pacific, may exclude them from surface waters.

The depth range of skipjack tuna can be from surface waters to 260m during the day, but at night it is much shallower.  Skipjack tuna are a schooling fish having a general tendency to school by size.

Skipjack tuna are thought to spawn in the Coral Sea off north Queensland and in waters off north western Australia.  In equatorial waters spawning occurs during all months, but in sub-tropical waters the season is restricted to summer and early autumn.

In tropical waters reproductively active female skipjack tuna spawn almost daily.   Ripe skipjack tuna eggs are about 1mm in diameter and transparent and buoyant.   Estimates of the number of eggs released at each spawning range from about 100,000 eggs for the smallest mature females to 2 million for the largest fish.  Skipjack tuna eggs hatch after 1-1.5 days.

The warm East Australian Current distributes skipjack tuna larvae into subtropical waters off eastern Australia.

Commercial fishing for Skipjack Tuna is generally carried out from December to March   by pole-and-line and purse seine vessels.  Yellowfin and albacore tuna are taken as a bycatch of both fishing methods.

Skipjack tuna are commonly caught by sport and recreational anglers.  Most fish are caught by trolling or casting small lures from a boat.  Catches are also made using flies or baits of whole, small fish or flesh strips.  Skipjack tuna are a very good bait for a variety of marine fish, with large skipjack tuna being used for the larger species of tuna and billfish.

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