Considerations on diving patterns of bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus based on archival tag data

Swimming depth and selected environmental factors were examined using 2764 days of archival tag data for 18 bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus (fork length at release 58.5 ± 7.2 cm) that were captured, tagged, and released into Japanese waters. Daytime swimming depth was deeper with increasing body length. The lowest temperature encountered was usually about 10 °C or slightly higher. A positive correlation between swimming depth and light intensity at the ocean surface was dominant for during both daytime and nighttime. Synchronicity of swimming depth with deep scattering layer (DSL) was observed, except around midday. Deep diving to depths exceeding 550 m was observed a mean of 0.30 dives/fish/day. Based on the classification and analyses of deep diving pattern and consideration of environmental data, deep diving was assumed to be undertaken for the purposes of foraging, predator avoidance, and exploration of bathymetry, as well as due to aberrant behavior. Occasionally, extremely deep diving events exceeding 1000 m (maximum 1616 m) were recorded. Bigeye tuna appear to have high visual acuity and tolerance of both low and wide temperature ranges, and low dissolved oxygen content. Thus, probably bigeye tuna swimming depth is primarily adjusted based on prey distribution.