Before we learn about ways and means to catch more of these beautiful fish, here are some details of the tuna and its lifestyle.

• We know people were catching tuna thousands of years ago
• Apart from eating the fish, some people believed tuna had medicinal properties
• Fishing in a small boat can take months to catch a large amount of tuna
• Fishing in a modern trawler can reap vast amounts of the fish in only a day
• Tuna have a white belly and a blue top which affords protection through camouflage
• Yellow fin tuna and dolphins often swim and feed together
• Tuna swim non-stop at about 9 miles per hour
• Tuna need a constant flow of water over their gills to keep breathing
• Some tuna swim lower in the sea at night but higher during the day
• One nickname for tuna is the ‘chicken of the sea’
• The fastest tuna is the Northern blue fin which can reach speeds of 90 kph
• Tagged tuna have traveled up to 10,000 kilometers or swum continually for almost 500 hours
• A tuna’s dark flesh is because they have more blood vessels than other fish

TUNA FISHING TIP — Because the tuna is a super-fit fish with speed and power to burn, choose the correct equipment. If you’re after a big tuna you must use the appropriate tackle.