Tuna ID

[Fishthebite]

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This is an easy one. Without a doubt its a yellowfin. You can tell easily if you look at the fork in the tail which has a "V" in it which creates 2 different ridges. A bigeye would be absolutely smooth in the fork of the tail with no V or cut in it whatsoever.

[Fishthebite]

Someone posted this earlier in the year and dont remember who it was, so I cant take credit for this, but here is the link I saved for id of YFTS vs BIGEYES. Kudos to the origional poster of this great resource.

http://www.spc.int/OceanFish/Html/SC...INF-FTWG-5.pdf

[alex n]

I say yft, even though the 2nd pec and anal fins are short. Not all have the long sickle fins. Here in the NE canyons some 100 lb yft's have them , some dont.

[Roddy Hays]

Thanx for the replies, guys. I admit, the ID has me stumped too, and there's a reason for that.

This fish was caught off Madeira, sometime between the late 90's and today (though I lean towards the late 90's), and the reason I am intrigued is because if this IS a yellowfin, it'll be the first recorded off Madeira for at least 30 years. They just do not appear there (though small sub-50lb fish can be caught in one very small location 30 miles to the NE off the island of Porto Santo, only on livebait though - never on lures).

It was the caudal fin notch that really bugged me, and body shape says yellowfin for me too, but the eye is large, and some of the anal finlets look edged in black - is it possible it's a hybrid ? Do they get them ? I also wonder whether there might be some differentiation in the physical characteristics of Atlantic and Pacific bigeyes...... I'll have to look through some of my photos of NE bigeyes and see what I can find out there maybe,...... rambling as normal.

The weird snout I assume is either due to something covering the end of the nose or it's been chopped off - prop maybe ?

Anyway, we'll never know ; as Deep says, we need the liver for a real answer, and I know we won't get that !

Thanx again.

[Capt. kapoc]

It's a YFt we had the same issue here in Va beach at the fishing center when they correctly id'd a YFT and everyone thought it was a big eye

[Deep C]

The liver is the only100% test... I had seven "yellowfin" one day a few years ago. All nearly identical 65pound class fish... Three of em suprised the hell out of me on the table as turning into big eyes though they didn't look the part at all.
I had it in reverse a couple years before that in the Hudson. We had a mess of yellows and two jumbos of 125 and 140 lbs that both screamed big eye at least by dimension. Big fat round ones with short fins. Livers smooth as a baby's bottom...

[Patudo]

It's quite recent. Joao would have looked a lot younger in the late 90s,

I thought at first this was the yft he boated last year but I saw the photo of that one on his mobile phone and am almost certain it had the long sickles. I'd say, if you put me on the spot, that was an unusually skinny bigeye. Unusual because the Madeiran ones are normally fat slobs. Here's a snap of Joao's brother Januario and his crewman Amilco with a nice pair.



ps. Where's the original link to your photo Roddy?

[Ultralite]

Originally Posted by Deep C

The liver is the only100% test... I had seven "yellowfin" one day a few years ago. All nearly identical 65pound class fish... Three of em suprised the hell out of me on the table as turning into big eyes though they didn't look the part at all.
I had it in reverse a couple years before that in the Hudson. We had a mess of yellows and two jumbos of 125 and 140 lbs that both screamed big eye at least by dimension. Big fat round ones with short fins. Livers smooth as a baby's bottom...

Not true. Don't need to look at the liver. One glance and that's a YFT. Just need to know what you're looking at.

[SkirtChaser32']

One that I would eat raw! No Tuna expert, but looks "Yellowfinish" to me.

[waterman482]

Its no doubt a bigeye! just a thinner more streamlined than most!