Yellowfin Tuna
Latin - Thunnus alacares / Neothunnus albacares
Norsk - Gulfinntuna|
Deutsch - Gelbflossen Thun
Français - Albacore
Italiano - Tonno
Español - Rabil
Português - Peixinho da ilha Rabao

     

The yellowfin tuna is a type of tuna found in open waters of tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. It is an epipelagic fish ranging in the top 100 m (330 feet) of the water column. Reported sizes have ranged as high as 239 cm (94 inches) in length and 200 kg (440 lb) in weight. Also known as ahi tuna, from its Hawaiian name.
The yellowfin tuna becoming a popular replacement for the severely depleted supplies of bluefin tuna.

The second dorsal fin and the anal fin are both bright yellow, thus the common name, and can be very long in mature specimens, as are the pectoral fins. The main body is very dark metallic blue, changing to silver on the belly, which has about 20 vertical lines.

Yellowfins tend to school with fishes of the same size, including other species of tuna, and larger fish are often seen with dolphins, porpoises, whales and whale sharks.
Yellowfins eat other fish, crustaceans, and squid.

Culinary uses
Yellowfin tuna is widely used as raw fish dishes, especially sashimi and sushi.Yellowfin is excellent for grilling.and often served seared or rare.

Commercial product:
Sold fresh or frozen, Whole fish, headless and tail less, fillets and portion, processed, smoked and canned.
Yellowfin buyers often recognize two grades, "Sashimi grade" and "other", although there are variations in the quality of "other" grades.





Swordfish
Latin - Xiphias gladius
Norsk - Sverdfisk
Deutsch - Schwertfisch
Français - Espadon
Italiano - Pesce spada
Español - Pez espada / Emperador
Português - Espadarte



Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood. They reach a maximum size of 177 in. (455 cm) and 1,400 lb (650kg). The International Game Fish Association's all-tackle angling record for a swordfish was a 1,182 lb (536.15 kg) specimen taken off Chile in 1953.

Females grow larger than males, with males over 300 lb (135 kg) being rare. Females mature at 4-5 years of age in northwest Pacific while males mature first at about 3 to 4 years. In the North Pacific, batch spawning occurs in water warmer than 24 °C from March to July and year round in the equatorial Pacific. Adult swordfish forage includes pelagic fish including small tuna, dorado, barracuda, flying fish, mackerel, as well as benthic species of hake and rockfish. Squid are important when available. Swordfish are thought to have few predators as adults although juveniles are vulnerable to predation by large pelagic fish.

Swordfish skeleton at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DCWhile swordfish are cold blooded animals, they have special organs next to their eyes to heat their eyes and also their brain. Temperatures of 10 to 15 C° above the surrounding water temperature have been measured. The heating of the eyes greatly improves the vision, and subsequently improves their ability to catch prey. Out of the 25 000+ species of bony fish, only about 22 are known to have the ability to heat selected body parts above the temperature of the surrounding water. These include the swordfish, marlin, and tuna. Swordfish are not schooling fish. They swim alone or in very loose aggregations, separated by as much as 10 meters from a neighboring swordfish. They are frequently found basking at the surface, airing their first dorsal fin. Boaters report this to be a beautiful sight, as is the powerful jumping for whichthe species is known. This jumping, also called breaching, is thought by some researchers to be an effort to dislodge pests, such as remora or lampreys. It could also be a way of surface feeding by stunning small fish as they jump out of the water, making the fish more easily captured for food.

Swordfish feed daily, most often at night when they rise to surface and near-surface waters in search of smaller fish. They have been observed moving through schools of fish, thrashing their swords to kill or stun their prey and then quickly turning to consume their catch. In the western North Atlantic, squid is the most popular food item consumed. But fish, such as menhaden, mackerel, bluefish, silver hake, butterfish, and herring also contribute to the swordfish diet.

Swordfish are vigorous, powerful fighters. When hooked or harpooned, they have been known to dive so quickly that they have impaled their swords into the ocean bottom up to their eyes. Although there are no reports of unprovoked attacks on humans, swordfish can be very dangerous when harpooned. They have run their swords through the planking of small boats when hurt.

The adults have few natural enemies, with the exception of large sharks and sperm and killer whales. They are easily frightened by small boats, yet paradoxically, large craft are often able to draw very near without scaring them. This makes swordfish easy to harpoon.

The swordfish is often mistaken for the sailfish, with which it shares a striking resemblance.

Size:
Up to 455 cm. and weight: up to 650.0 kg
Pelagic-oceanic; depth range 0 – 800 m
Climate: temperate; 5 – 27°C.

Fishing methods:
Swordfish were harvested by a variety of methods at small scale until the global expansion of long-line fishing. Longline gear can be targeted to a variety of fish,
but bycatch remains a significant problem.

Use:
Marinated Swordfish is a particularly popular fish for cooking. Since swordfish are large animals, meat is usually sold as steaks, which are often grilled.
The color of the flesh varies by diet, with fish caught on the east coast of North America often being rosi.
Swordfish is very popularity as a restaurant entree..

However, many sources including the United States Food and Drug Administration warn about potential toxicity from high levels of methylmercury in swordfish.
The FDA recommends that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant should eat no more than one seven-ounce serving a month; others should eat no more than one serving a week.

Commercial product:
Sold fresh or frozen, Whole fish, headless, or as fillets and portion.