Oxymoron of the Day: Chicken of the Sea

What would you like to know about the Yellowfin Tuna today? The yellowfin, commonly known as "albacore" and "ahi", is probably the most commercially sought-after species of fish in the world.

The yellowfin, like its sibling the bluefin, is a beautiful animal. In fact, the whole "thunnus" genus is. Bullet-shaped, streamlined, extremely muscular and up until recently very resilient, these fish have unwittingly continued to captivate human's insatiable craving for it.

What is the difference between the yellow and bluefin? Well, primarily the coloring of the pectoral fins. Yellowfin tunas have extraordinarily bright coloring on their finlets. These fish are very migratory, and can be found nearly all over the world. They are most comfortable in tropical waters, and so they tend to favor areas below the equator.

Unlike its brother the bluefin, the yellowfin is not considered endangered. In fact, it's considered "least concern", however this is an outdated classification, and the species has most likely moved up a notch or two in terms of endangerment. In fact, the yellowfin accounts for over 45% of the North America's tuna harvest each year. How does that not spell doom?

These brilliant fins need conservation efforts like anything else in the ocean. Just because a population of a certain species is considered abundant doesn't give us the right to destroy it. 

Oftentimes we take for granted the things we kill for our meals. Did you know the yellowfin is an extremely strong schooler? That means it doesn't necessarily school by species, it'll school by size! Blue and yellowfins can be found schooling with other large fish (like the bigeye), and even dolphins. So strong is the urge to "bond" while schooling that the fins have been observed using driftwood and other large pieces of refuse as swimming "companions".

Tunas are incredible fish, the only animal that could rival its engineering is the shark. In fact, a 200 lb yellowfin can easily cruise at 23 mph for a long period of time. When the yellowfin feeds its excitment shows through light vertical bars that appear on its sides.

We have to stop treating the earth and the animals in it like they are here for solely for our eating enjoyment. They are here for our enjoyment period. Catching/killing/eating anything we like out of the ocean is not a basic human right. So when someone says to you "I did a great job at work today, I deserve lobster/tuna steak/salmon/any seafood tonight!", kick them in the shins.