Their torpedo-shaped bodies and ability to retracttheir pectoral fins and eyes enable them to move the water with reduced friction, reaching up to 25 mph in short spurts. Bluefin tuna are found in all of the world's oceans. In the eastern Pacific, bluefin tuna have been known to migrate as far north as the Gulf of Alaska. Generally, they are found in the waters off Baja California and southern California. In the western Pacific, depending on the time of year, they are found in concentrations around Japan and the northern Philippines.
Fishermen use rod and reel, hand-thrown harpoon, or purse seine techniques to catch the fish.
Aquarium researchers and the East Coast Tuna Association have worked with spotter pilots from 1993-1997 to help develop a more accurate assessment of the size of New England's bluefin tuna population. Concern for the status of their population has helped make bluefin tuna a research priority. Believed by many to be fast becoming a depleted resource, bluefin tuna have been at the center of a heated debate. Fishermen, however, claim they see morebluefin tuna in a single day than regulators have said exist in the entire North Atlantic. Today, bluefin are subject to strict international quotas in the Western Atlantic, and the National Marine Fisheries Service considers them a depleted resource.