Abstract The age of sexual maturity of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus; ABFT) is a reference point for stock assessment and management. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recognizes a western and an eastern Atlantic ABFT stock, based on the assumptions of separate, exclusive spawning grounds, i.e., the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, with different ages of sexual maturity, 8–12 years vs 3–5 years, respectively. Multiple line of evidences indicate that spawning is not restricted to the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, and reconsideration of historical documents, as well as results from recent studies, indicate that sexual maturation schedules of the two proposed stocks are similar (3–5 years). The present review of classical and recent literature suggests that ABFT have more complex reproductive behavior than previously considered: on eastern spawning grounds 50% of ABFT females reproduce at 3 years of age and 100% are sexually mature at 5 years of age. In the western management area, younger adults (age ≥ 5 years) and some larger adults apparently spawn in the northwest Atlantic Ocean across the Slope and Caribbean Seas, whereas the Gulf of Mexico spawners are mostly large adults (age ≥ 8 years).

中文翻译：

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大西洋蓝鳍金枪鱼性成熟回顾，Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)

摘要 大西洋蓝鳍金枪鱼 (Thunnus thynnus; ABFT) 的性成熟年龄是种群评估和管理的参考点。国际大西洋金枪鱼保护委员会 (ICCAT) 根据独立、排他性产卵地的假设，即墨西哥湾北部和地中海，具有不同的性龄期，承认大西洋西部和东部的 ABFT 种群。成熟期分别为 8-12 年和 3-5 年。多条证据表明产卵不限于墨西哥湾和地中海，重新考虑历史文献以及最近的研究结果表明，这两种拟议种群的性成熟时间表相似（3-5年）。目前对经典和近期文献的回顾表明，ABFT 具有比以前认为的更复杂的繁殖行为：在东部产卵地，50% 的 ABFT 雌性在 3 岁时繁殖，100% 在 5 岁时性成熟。在西部管理区，较年轻的成鱼（年龄≥ 5 岁）和一些较大的成虫明显产卵于大西洋西北部的斜坡和加勒比海，而墨西哥湾的产卵者主要是大成虫（年龄≥ 8 岁）。