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50-508: The island of Favignana is famous for its tuna fisheries and is now a popular tourist destination with frequent hydrofoil connections to the mainland. In ancient times Favignana was called Aegusa , meaning "goat island" in Greek (Αιγούσα). The present name is derived from Favonio , an Italian name for the foehn wind . The Phoenicians established an outpost on the island as a stopping point on their trans- Mediterranean trading routes until

100-674: A calque (loan translation) from the German Thunfisch . Canned tuna is sometimes used as food for pets, especially cats . Canned tuna was first produced in Australia in 1903 and quickly became popular. In the early 1980s canned tuna in Australia was most likely southern bluefin , as of 2003 it was usually yellowfin, skipjack , or tongol (labelled "northern bluefin" or "longtail"). Australian standards once required cans of tuna to contain at least 51% tuna, but those regulations were dropped in 2003. The remaining weight

150-678: A different record was set when a fisherman in Massachusetts caught an 881 lb (400 kg) tuna. It was captured inadvertently using a dragnet. Due to the laws and restrictions on tuna fishing in the United States, federal authorities impounded the fish because it was not caught with a rod and reel. Because of the tuna's deteriorated condition as a result of the trawl net, the fish sold for just under $ 5,000. Besides for edible purposes, many tuna species are caught frequently as game, often for recreation or for contests in which money

200-465: A relatively narrow range. Tunas achieve endothermy by conserving the heat generated through normal metabolism . In all tunas, the heart operates at ambient temperature , as it receives cooled blood, and coronary circulation is directly from the gills . The rete mirabile ("wonderful net"), the intertwining of veins and arteries in the body's periphery, allows nearly all of the metabolic heat from venous blood to be "re-claimed" and transferred to

250-485: A single fish – the current record is 333.6 million japanese yen (US$ 3.1 million) for a 278 kg (613 lb) bluefin, or a unit price of JP¥ 1,200,000/kg (US$ 5,057/lb). The opening auction price for 2014 plummeted to less than 5% of the previous year's price, which had drawn complaints for climbing "way out of line". A summary of record-setting auctions are shown in the following table (highlighted values indicate new world records): In November 2011,

300-517: A subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel ) family. The Thunnini comprise 17 species across five genera , the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: 50 cm or 1.6 ft, weight: 1.8 kg or 4 lb) up to the Atlantic bluefin tuna (max length: 4.6 m or 15 ft, weight: 684 kg or 1,508 lb), which averages 2 m (6.6 ft) and

350-463: A variety of other gears the remainder. The Australian government alleged in 2006 that Japan had illegally overfished southern bluefin by taking 12,000 to 20,000 tonnes per year instead of the agreed upon 6,000 tonnes; the value of such overfishing would be as much as US$ 2 billion. Such overfishing has severely damaged bluefin stocks. According to the WWF , "Japan's huge appetite for tuna will take

400-682: A western Pacific-wide ban on tuna purse-seining in the vicinity of marine mammals – a measure which was agreed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission at its eighth meeting in March 2012. Dolphins swim beside several tuna species. These include yellowfin tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean, but not albacore . Tuna schools are believed to associate themselves with dolphins for protection against sharks, which are tuna predators . Commercial fishing vessels used to exploit this association by searching for dolphin pods. Vessels would encircle

450-426: Is a monophyletic clade comprising 15 species in five genera : The cladogram is a tool for visualizing and comparing the evolutionary relationships between taxa , and is read left-to-right as if on a timeline. The following cladogram illustrates the relationship between the tunas and other tribes of the family Scombridae. For example, the cladogram illustrates that the skipjack tunas are more closely related to

500-455: Is a sleek, elongated and streamlined fish, adapted for speed. It has two closely spaced but separated dorsal fins on its back; The first fin is "depressible" – it can be laid down, flush, in a groove that runs along its back; it is supported by spines. Seven to ten yellow finlets run from the dorsal fins to the tail, which is lunate – curved like a crescent moon – and tapered to pointy tips. A tuna's pelvic fins are located below

550-713: Is a traditional tuna fishing technique that uses a series of large nets to trap and exhaust the fish. There are mattanza traditions linked to Trapani in Sicily , the Egadi island of Favignana , and Carloforte and the Isola di San Pietro in southwestern Sardinia , as well as locations in Spain , Portugal , Morocco , and Tunisia . The practice of mattanza is an elaborate and age-old fishing technique for trapping and catching Atlantic bluefin tuna that can be traced back to

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600-689: Is also either attributed to the Moors , during Sicily's own Islamic period or by the Spanish afterwards. From March the tuna schools migrate through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean to visit their spawning grounds. From May onwards, fishermen drive schools of fish in straits into a system of nets (known in Italian as tonnara ), that form various chambers. The tuna are guided through

650-569: Is an important commercial fish . The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) compiled a detailed scientific report on the state of global tuna stocks in 2009, which includes regular updates. According to the ISSF, the most important species for commercial and recreational tuna fisheries are yellowfin ( Thunnus albacares ), bigeye ( T. obesus ), bluefin ( T. thynnus , T. orientalis , and T. macoyii ), albacore ( T. alalunga ), and skipjack ( Katsuwonus pelamis ). Based on catches from 2007,

700-816: Is awarded based on weight. Larger specimens are notorious for putting up a fight while hooked, and have been known to injure people who try to catch them, as well as damage their equipment. In 2005, Nauru , defending its vote from Australian criticism at that year's meeting of the International Whaling Commission , argued that some whale species have the potential to devastate Nauru's tuna stocks, and that Nauru's food security and economy relies heavily on fishing. Despite this, Nauru does not permit whaling in its own waters and does not allow other fishing vessels to take or intentionally interact with marine mammals in its Exclusive Economic Zone. In 2010 and 2011, Nauru supported Australian proposals for

750-504: Is believed to live up to 50 years. Tuna, opah , and mackerel sharks are the only species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water . An active and agile predator , the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, and is among the fastest-swimming pelagic fish – the yellowfin tuna , for example, is capable of speeds of up to 75 km/h (47 mph). Greatly inflated speeds can be found in early scientific reports and are still widely reported in

800-519: Is derived from Ancient Greek : θύννος , romanized :  thýnnos used for the Atlantic bluefin tuna , that name in turn is ultimately derived from θύνω thýnō , meaning "to rush, dart along". In English, tuna has been referred to as Chicken of the Sea . This name persists today in Japan, where tuna as a food can be called シーチキン ( shi-chikin ) , literally "sea chicken". The Thunnini tribe

850-664: Is shipped, being prepared in a variety of ways. When served as a steak , the meat of most species is known for its thickness and tough texture. In the U.K., supermarkets began flying in fresh tuna steaks in the late 1990s, which helped to increase the popularity of using fresh tuna in cooking; by 2009, celebrity chefs regularly featured fresh tuna in salads, wraps, and char-grilled dishes. Various species of tuna are often served raw in Japanese cuisine as sushi or sashimi . Commercial sashimi tuna may have their coloration fixated by pumping carbon monoxide (CO) into bags containing

900-513: Is the contraction of Kinki University in Japanese (Kinki daigaku). In 2009, Clean Seas, an Australian company which has been receiving assistance from Kinki University managed to breed southern bluefin tuna in captivity and was awarded the second place in World's Best Invention of 2009 by Time magazine. The fresh or frozen flesh of tuna is widely regarded as a delicacy in most areas where it

950-431: Is the largest of the three principal Egadi Islands, with a land area of 19.8 square kilometres (7.6 sq mi). The island is often described as having a "butterfly" shape. Favignana town is located on a narrow isthmus connecting the two "wings", which have quite different characteristics. The eastern half of the island is largely flat, while the western half is dominated by a chain of hills of which Monte Santa Caterina

1000-462: Is the tallest at 314 metres (1,030 feet). It is topped by a fort, originally established by the Saracens. It was used by the Italian military and closed to the public. It has now been abandoned. A number of small islands are situated off the south coast of Favignana. The island is famous for its caves of calcarenite rock (locally known as "tufo") and the ancient fishing technique of tonnara , with

1050-512: Is usually oil or water. The product became more plentiful in the United States in the late 1940s. In 1950, 8,500,000 pounds of canned tuna were produced, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture classified it as a "plentiful food". In the United States, 52% of canned tuna is used for sandwiches ; 22% for tuna salads ; and 15% for tuna casseroles and dried, prepackaged meal kits , such as General Mills 's Tuna Helper line. Other canned tuna dishes include tuna melts (a type of sandwich where

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1100-465: The Atlantic bluefin tuna yields of the mattanza are constantly falling due to the overfishing of the stocks, so that the mattanza is more of a tourist event today. In Italy, in 2003 and 2004, it could no longer take place in Trapani. The schools of tuna had already been fully fished beforehand by international fishing fleets long before they approach coastal areas were they can be caught with

1150-524: The Normans took possession of the island, and built fortifications there in 1081. Under the Aragonese rulers of Sicily, Favignana and the other Aegadian Islands were hired out to Genoese merchants and in the 15th century the islands were granted to one Giovanni de Karissima, who adopted the grand title "Baron of Tuna". The plentiful tuna fish found offshore were first exploited systematically under

1200-670: The Pacific Ocean , 22 percent from the Indian Ocean , and the remaining 10 percent from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea . Skipjack makes up about 60 percent of the catch, followed by yellowfin (24 percent), bigeye (10 percent), albacore (5 percent), and bluefin the remainder. Purse-seines take about 62 percent of the world production, longline about 14 percent, pole and line about 11 percent, and

1250-651: The Phoenicians . While it is unclear how the technique was spread around the Mediterranean basin, it was also imparted to areas such as Iberia during Iberia's Islamic period. The Spanish derive the term almadraba ( Portuguese : almadrava ) from the Andalusi Arabic word al-maḍraba ( المضربة ), meaning 'a place to strike' (Arabic root: ḍaraba ( ضرب ), meaning 'it struck, hit'). The introduction in Sicily and Sardinia, but not mainland Italy,

1300-472: The arterial blood via a counter-current exchange system, thus mitigating the effects of surface cooling. This allows the tuna to elevate the temperatures of the highly- aerobic tissues of the skeletal muscles, eyes and brain, which supports faster swimming speeds and reduced energy expenditure, and which enables them to survive in cooler waters over a wider range of ocean environments than those of other fish. Also unlike most fish, which have white flesh,

1350-752: The true tunas than are the slender tunas (the most primitive of the tunas), and that the next nearest relatives of the tunas are the bonitos of the tribe Sardini.   Butterfly kingfishes  (one genus)   Mackerels  (two genera) [REDACTED]   Spanish mackerels  (three genera) [REDACTED]   Bonitos  (four genera) [REDACTED]   Allothunnus , slender tunas   Auxis , frigate tunas [REDACTED]   Euthynnus , little tunas [REDACTED]   Katsuwonus , skipjack tunas [REDACTED]   bluefin group [REDACTED]   yellowfin group [REDACTED] The "true" tunas are those that belong to

1400-521: The Axis forces from Sicily. Two American officers, Lt. Louis Testa, and Capt. R.E. Gerard, were a two-man ‘expedition’ which ‘captured' the three Aegadian Islands and 1027 prisoners. The officers went over from a Sicilian fishing boat, which they paid $ 3. They went ashore on Favignana Island and the Italian Lt. Colonel surrendered it along with Levanzo and Marittimo islands and their garrisons. Favignana

1450-708: The Sardinian locals of Sant'Antioco and Carloforte . There are other locations in Andalusia , Murcia and Valencia in Spain , Algarve in Portugal , Sidi Daoud in Tunisia and in Morocco . The bycatch contains, among others, bullet tuna ( Auxis rochei ), little tunny ( Euthynnus alletteratus ), Atlantic bonito ( Sarda sarda ), bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ) and swordfish ( Xiphias gladius ). However,

1500-689: The Spanish from about the 17th century onwards. Facing severe financial problems from their ongoing wars, the Spanish sold the islands to the Marquis Pallavicino of Genoa in 1637. The Pallavicini substantially developed the economy of the island, prompting the establishment of the modern town of Favignana around the Castello San Giacomo. In 1874, the Pallavicino family sold the Aegadian Islands to Ignazio Florio ,

1550-513: The base of the pectoral fins. Both dorsal and pelvic fins retract when the fish is swimming fast. The tuna's body is countershaded to camouflage itself in deeper water when seen from above, its dorsal side is generally a metallic dark blue while the ventral or under side is silvery, often with an iridescent shine. The caudal peduncle , to which the tail is attached, is quite thin, with three stabilizing horizontal keels on each side. Thunnus are widely but sparsely distributed throughout

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1600-549: The chambers, which are being drawn closer and closer together, to the inner chamber (southern Italian: càmira dâ morti , literally "death chamber"), from which they are then lifted onto the fishing boats with grappling hooks. The tuna caught is processed on land directly in the tonnara (from tonno , meaning "tuna"). Traditional Italian locations for the mattanza include Trapani , Favignana , Capo Passero , Formica, Bonagia, Scopello , Castellammare del Golfo , San Vito Lo Capo , Portopalo and Capo Granitola and in

1650-611: The defeat of the Carthaginian army during the First Punic War . On 10 March 241 BC, a major naval battle was fought a short distance offshore between the two powers. Two hundred Roman ships under the consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus met and decisively defeated a much larger Carthaginian fleet of 400 ships, with the Romans sinking 120 Carthaginian vessels and taking 10,000 prisoners. So many dead Phoenicians washed ashore on

1700-414: The first U.S. offshore farming of bigeye tuna in water 1,300 feet (400 m) deep in 2009. Japan is the biggest tuna consuming nation and is also the leader in tuna farming research. Japan first successfully farm-hatched and raised bluefin tuna in 1979. In 2002, it succeeded in completing the reproduction cycle and in 2007, completed a third generation. The farm breed is known as Kindai tuna. Kindai

1750-592: The genus Thunnus . Until recently, it was thought that there were seven Thunnus species, and that Atlantic bluefin tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna were subspecies of a single species. In 1999, Collette established that based on both molecular and morphological considerations, they are in fact distinct species. The genus Thunnus is further classified into two subgenera : Thunnus ( Thunnus ) (the bluefin group), and Thunnus ( Neothunnus ) (the yellowfin group). The Thunnini tribe also includes seven additional species of tuna across four genera. They are: The tuna

1800-564: The mainland and abroad. The fishery declined with the rise of factory fishing after World War II . Thanks to the Parodi brothers, who bought the factory—after the troubles of the Florio family—tuna fishing continued through the 1980s. The factory is now a museum due to the unavoidable decline. The island's fortunes were turned around by the advent of tourism from the late 1960s onwards. During World War II , American Forces under Gen. Patton drove

1850-592: The most sought-after stocks to the brink of commercial extinction unless fisheries agree on more rigid quotas". Japan's Fisheries Research Agency counters that Australian and New Zealand tuna fishing companies under-report their total catches of southern bluefin tuna and ignore internationally mandated total allowable catch totals. In recent years, opening day fish auctions at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market and Toyosu Market have seen record-setting prices for bluefin tuna, reflecting market demand. In each of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2019, new record prices have been set for

1900-444: The muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red myotomal muscles derive their color from myoglobin , an oxygen-binding molecule, which tuna express in quantities far higher than most other fish. The oxygen-rich blood further enables energy delivery to their muscles. For powerful swimming animals like dolphins and tuna, cavitation may be detrimental, because it limits their maximum swimming speed. Even if they have

1950-485: The northeastern part of Favignana that the shoreline there acquired the name "Red Cove" ( Cala Rossa ) from the bloodshed. The Romans took possession of the island under the terms of the treaty that ended the war. In the early Middle Ages, Favignana was captured by Arabs and was used as a base for the Islamic conquest of Sicily . The Saracens constructed a castle on top of the tallest hill called Santa Caterina. Soon after,

2000-504: The oceans of the world, generally in tropical and temperate waters at latitudes ranging between about 45° north and south of the equator. All tunas are able to maintain the temperature of certain parts of their body above the temperature of ambient seawater. For example, bluefin can maintain a core body temperature of 25–33 °C (77–91 °F), in water as cold as 6 °C (43 °F). Unlike other endothermic creatures such as mammals and birds, tuna do not maintain temperature within

2050-453: The pod with nets to catch the tuna beneath. The nets were prone to entangling dolphins, injuring or killing them. Public outcry and new government regulations, which are now monitored by NOAA have led to more dolphin-friendly methods, now generally involving lines rather than nets. There are neither universal independent inspection programs nor verification of dolphin safety, so these protections are not absolute. According to Consumers Union ,

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2100-477: The popular literature. Found in warm seas, the tuna is commercially fished extensively as a food fish , and is popular as a bluewater game fish . As a result of overfishing , some tuna species, such as the southern bluefin tuna , are threatened with extinction . The term "tuna" comes from Spanish atún < Andalusian Arabic at-tūn , assimilated from al-tūn التون [Modern Arabic التن ] : 'tuna fish' < Middle Latin thunnus . Thunnus

2150-513: The power to swim faster, dolphins may have to restrict their speed, because collapsing cavitation bubbles on their tail are too painful. Cavitation also slows tuna, but for a different reason. Unlike dolphins, these fish do not feel the bubbles, because they have bony fins without nerve endings. Nevertheless, they cannot swim faster because the cavitation bubbles create a vapor film around their fins that limits their speed. Lesions have been found on tuna that are consistent with cavitation damage. Tuna

2200-536: The public demand to protect dolphins can be potentially damaging to other species as well. Increasing quantities of high-grade tuna caught at sea are reared in net pens and fed bait fish. In Australia, former fishermen raise southern bluefin tuna ( Thunnus maccoyii ) and another bluefin species. Farming its close relative, the Atlantic bluefin tuna , Thunnus thynnus , is beginning in the Mediterranean , North America and Japan. Hawaiʻi approved permits for

2250-414: The report states: Between 1940 and the mid-1960s, the annual world catch of the five principal market species of tunas rose from about 300 thousand tons to about 1 million tons, most of it taken by hook and line . With the development of purse-seine nets, now the predominant gear, catches have risen to more than 4 million tons annually during the last few years. Of these catches, about 68 percent are from

2300-499: The resulting lack of accountability means claims of tuna that is " dolphin safe " should be given little credence. Fishery practices have changed to be dolphin friendly, which has caused greater bycatch including sharks , turtles and other oceanic fish . Fishermen no longer follow dolphins, but concentrate their fisheries around floating objects such as fish aggregation devices , also known as FADs, which attract large populations of other organisms. Measures taken thus far to satisfy

2350-459: The son of a wealthy mainland industrialist, for two million liras. He invested heavily in Favignana and built a major tuna cannery on the island, bringing prosperity to many of the inhabitants. Calcarenite quarries were also opened with stone being exported to Tunisia and Libya . During the 20th century, Favignana's economy slumped between the two World Wars and many inhabitants emigrated to

2400-417: The trapping and mattanza (slaughter) of bluefin tuna . It hosts the historical Tonnara di Favignana . As the island consists mainly of calcareous rocks, there are few beaches on the island; however, it is a popular site for scuba diving , snorkeling , and for day trips from nearby Trapani. Tuna A tuna ( pl. : tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini ,

2450-605: The tuna is mixed with mayonnaise and served on bread with cheese melted on top); salade niçoise (a salad made of tuna, olives, green beans, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and anchovy dressing); and tuna burgers (served on buns). In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates canned tuna (see part c ). Tonnara Mattanza , literally 'slaughter' or 'killing' in Italian, also known as almadraba in Spanish and almadrava in Portuguese,

2500-434: The tuna, and holding it at 4 °C. For a 2-inch tuna steak, this requires 24 hours. The fish is then vacuum sealed and frozen. In Japan, color fixation using CO is prohibited. Tuna is canned in edible oils , in brine , in water, and in various sauces. Tuna may be processed and labeled as "solid", "chunked" ("chunk") or "flaked". When tuna is canned and packaged for sale, the product is sometimes called tuna fish (U.S.),

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