Pacific Bluefin Tuna

About Pacific Bluefin Tuna in Mexico

How to recognize it

Bluefin are the heaviest-bodied tuna off Baja, thick and football-shaped, with a dark blue-black back and silver lower sides. The surest field mark is the pectoral fin: it is short and does not reach the start of the second dorsal fin. Yellowfin have longer pectorals and usually a yellow side stripe, while albacore have very long pectorals. Finlets are yellow edged in black.

Where and when in Mexico

In Mexico this fish is atún cimarrón, and anglers also say atún aleta azul. It is a northern Baja fish. Schools move through offshore waters from the Coronado Islands south past Ensenada, Todos Santos Island and San Quintín, generally from late spring into fall, though timing shifts a lot with water temperature. All of the bluefin in Mexico Fish Reports' counts come from Ensenada boats. The same waters host commercial tuna ranching pens near Ensenada.

How it's fished

Bluefin are notoriously line-shy. Ensenada sportboats and private boats run long distances looking for foamers, breezers or meter marks, then fly-line sardines or mackerel on light fluorocarbon, drop flat-fall and knife jigs, or slow-troll mackerel. For larger fish, kites and helium balloons keep a bait on the surface with no visible leader. Heavy spinning or conventional gear with good drags is needed; fish over 100 pounds are possible.

Good to know

Bleeding and icing a bluefin right away keeps the meat at sashimi quality.

Fishing rules in Mexico

• General limit: 10 fish per angler per day, max 5 of one species

Source: NOM-017-PESC-1994 §4.9.1 (2013 mod.). Rules change; confirm current limits, seasons and permits with CONAPESCA before you fish.

Where Pacific Bluefin Tuna are caught in Mexico

• Ensenada 54 counted · last Oct 2026

Fish counts by year

From fish counts posted by the Mexican landings on Mexico Fish Reports. Years with no posted counts are not shown.

Boats catching Pacific Bluefin Tuna (2025–2026)

• Wahoo Ensenada 7 counted on 1 trip
• Sammy Ensenada 3 counted on 1 trip
• Ultimate (MX) Ensenada 1 counted on 1 trip
• El Cazador Ensenada 1 counted on 1 trip
• No Limitz Ensenada 1 counted on 1 trip

Pacific Bluefin Tuna photos from Mexico

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