Abstract

Yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, (YFT) is an important species in recreational and commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and Caribbean region. However, very little scientific information about YFT in the region exists in general and in particular about its movements and migrations, except information from limited tag/recapture studies that indicates that juveniles move great distances and mix with the large Eastern Atlantic populations. Until recently, YFT was probably viewed by most fisheries scientists as a highly migratory species that is caught by fishermen at various places along the species’ large-scale, oceanic migratory routes. Recently, however, independent acoustic tagging and telemetry studies of YFT in three different locations and environments have shown a previously unknown, different pattern. YFT have been shown to exhibit continued longterm residence around seamounts in the Gulf of California, fish aggregating devices (FADs) in Hawaii, and deepwater petroleum structures in the Gulf of Mexico. The recent findings of protracted association of YFT with objects and features suggest that fisheries scientists and managers should view YFT in a new and different light. Many large petroleum structures have been deployed in deep waters of the outer continental shelf of the northern GOM, numerous FADs have been installed around Caribbean islands, and numerous seamountlike bathymetric features exist in the Gulf and Caribbean. Resident or seasonally resident aggregations of YFT may occur at these locations, perhaps including some Caribbean islands.

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