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Blackfin Tuna
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Thunnus atlanticus |
| Common Names: | blackfin, Bermuda tuna, blackfinned albacore, blackfin tuna, black fin |
| Environment: | Offshore |
| Ideal Temp: | >= 68°F (20°C) |
About Blackfin Tuna
Blackfin tuna is the smallest tuna species in the Thunnus genus, generally growing to a maximum of 100 centimetres (39 in) in length and weighing 21 kg (46 lbs). Blackfin have oval shaped bodies, black backs with a slight yellow on the finlets, and have yellow on the sides of their body.
Blackfin are only found in the western Atlantic from Cape Cod to Brazil.
These tuna do not consume as much fish in their diet as other tunas, and will eat the tiny larvae of stomatopods (king shrimp or mantis shrimp), true shrimp, and crabs, as well as small fish. They do, of course, also eat juvenile and adult fish and squid. They are a short-lived, fast-growing species; a 5 year old fish would be considered old. They reach sexual maturity at two years old, and spawn in the open sea during the summer.
Blackfin tuna are a warmer-water fish, preferring water temperatures over 68°F (20°C). What they lack in size, they make up for in numbers and willingness to bite. There are scattered records of blackfin tuna occurring as far north as Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, but the usual range is from North Carolina to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Blackfin Tuna Fishing
| World Record: | 22.39 kg (49 lb 6 oz) Marathon, Florida , USA |
| # Fish Caught: | 137288 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 4/26/1933 12:00:00 AM and located at 19.45000, -80.69200. |
| Latest Record: | 4/3/2025 12:59:37 PM and located at 26.86383, -80.05500. |
| Common Techniques: | Casting, Chunking, Fly, Jigging, Trolling |
| Popular Lure Types: | Flies, Jigs, Plugs, Spoons, Topwater, Trolling |
| Fishing Spots: | 1386 Blackfin Tuna fishing spots. |
Latest Blackfin Tuna Fishing Reports and Spots
6/7-6/12 - 7/6/2012 7:29:00 AM
Body: We’ve had a few rough weather days this past week but some decent fishing in between! Dolphin and blackfin tuna for offshore boats along (
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6/13-6/16 - 6/17/2025 7:38:22 AM
Body: The weather has been very hit or miss lately but inshore charters are seeing a lot of red drum bluefish and Spanish mackerel along with (
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OFFSHORE- Still a decent pick on the dolphin this week; and SE winds throughout the weekend should keep them biting pretty good. Best depth on t (
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5/26-6/2 - 6/3/2025 5:26:05 PM
Body: Seeing a nice bluefish and red drum bite lately along with Spanish mackerel inshore. Offshore boats are getting good catches of dolphin (
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6/3 - 6/6 - 6/7/2025 9:28:09 AM
Body: Nice catches of dolphin for offshore boats this week! Some blackfin tuna and amberjack as well. Inshore the bluefish and Spanish mackere (
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May 29 - 5/30/2025 10:19:00 AM
Some #mahi and #blackfin #tuna on the #fearless (
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The Blakley boys and friends on board today including 5 year old Baker. The boys caught a few dolphins and we went looking around caught a black (
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Day one with the NC State Sportfishing school. This is a great program and we look forward to hosting them every year https://lifelonglearning.n (
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5/14 - 5/25 - 5/26/2025 2:28:44 PM
Body: Sorry for the gap in posting! We are back at it now. The past 2 weeks brought a few slow days but we’ve had a lot of awesome fishing day (
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OFFSHORE- Dolphin fishing remained good this week. Dolphin have been caught in 200-1200' with most of the better reports coming on the deeper si (
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