Longtail tuna (northern bluefin)

A slim, small tuna with a dark blue-black back, silvery sides with rows of pale oval spots and bars on the lower sides, short pectoral fins and a long, thin tail base (the 'long tail'). The second dorsal and anal fins are short and yellowish.

5–25 lb.

About 4¾ ft (145 cm) and about 80 lb. The IGFA all-tackle record is 79 lb 2 oz (35.9 kg) from Montague Island, Australia (1982).

Small schooling fish (anchovies, sardines, scad), squid and shrimp.

A coastal tuna — unlike most tunas it stays over the continental shelf, often close to shore, in bays and gulfs, chasing baitfish on the surface in fast-moving schools.

Found from Red Sea & Arabian Gulf (Egypt, Oman, UAE), East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam), Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Sulawesi), Philippines, China, Hong Kong & Taiwan, Japan & South Korea, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory & Western Australia, South-East Australia & Tasmania and South Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea. Shallow coastal seas of the Indo-West Pacific: the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Somalia and Kenya, India and Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, southern Japan, Papua New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. Absent from the open ocean and oceanic islands.

Shallow coastal seas of the Indo-West Pacific: the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Somalia and Kenya, India and Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, southern Japan, Papua New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. Absent from the open ocean and oceanic islands.

Surface to about 150 ft over the shelf.

Surface schools ('busting' fish) over 20–150 ft of water.

Changes by area — winter in the Arabian Gulf and northern Australia; summer and autumn off New South Wales and southern Queensland.

Early morning and late afternoon.

Moving tides that push bait around headlands and bay mouths.

Calm days make it easier to spot surface schools; birds working are the giveaway.

Live small baitfish or pilchards drifted near schools.

Small metal slugs and slices, soft plastic jerk shads, small stickbaits and epoxy flies — matched to small bait.

Medium 7 ft spinning rod with a 4000–6000 reel and a smooth drag; 10–12 weight fly rod.

Strong single hooks or quality trebles.

20–30 lb braid.

30–40 lb fluorocarbon.

Run-and-gun: find birds and splashing tuna, ease the boat ahead of the school's direction and cast a small metal or plastic into the front of it, retrieving fast.

Never drive the boat right into a school — they'll sound. Get ahead of them and let them come to you.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Good eating when fresh.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Darker, stronger meat than yellowfin; best bled, iced and eaten fresh as sashimi or seared, or used for curries.

No special hazards; bleed fish on deck carefully.

Australian states set bag limits for tunas; Gulf and Asian countries have their own rules. Check locally. Rules are set by each country and state — from licenses and bag limits in South Africa, Australia and the Gulf states to marine parks across the Indian Ocean and Pacific where fishing is limited or banned — check the local regulations where you fish.

Release fish you won't use, and bleed and ice the ones you keep.