What tuna can you catch in WA?

WA produces yellowfin tuna, southern bluefin tuna, longtail tuna and mackerel tuna for recreational anglers, along with skipjack, bigeye and dogtooth tuna. Yellowfin is the headline northern game fish off Exmouth, southern bluefin is the south-coast prize off Albany and Esperance, and longtail and mackerel tuna are light-tackle sport up north.

Where is the best tuna fishing in WA?

Exmouth and the North West Cape is the standout for yellowfin tuna, where the continental shelf and canyons drop into deep water within a short run. The south coast around Albany, Bremer Bay and Esperance is the prime ground for southern bluefin tuna, where the shelf swings close to shore in autumn and winter.

When is southern bluefin tuna season in WA?

Southern bluefin tuna run on the WA south coast from roughly March to July, peaking through autumn and into winter. Fish of 10 to 25kg are common off Albany, Bremer Bay and Esperance, with bigger barrels possible. Calm weather windows are the limiting factor, not the fish.

What is the tuna bag limit in WA?

All tunas count within the large pelagic finfish category, which has a TOTAL mixed-species daily bag limit of 3 per fisher statewide, shared with mackerel, mahi mahi, wahoo, samsonfish and kingfish. Tuna have no minimum legal size. Always confirm the current rules with DPIRD before you go.

Is yellowfin tuna good to eat?

Yes — yellowfin tuna and southern bluefin tuna are prime sashimi and searing fish. The key is handling: bleed and spike the fish immediately, then chill it in an ice and seawater slurry. Southern bluefin belly, the toro cut, is the most prized part.

Do you need a boat for tuna fishing in WA?

For yellowfin and southern bluefin, effectively yes — both hold along the continental shelf well offshore, so a seaworthy trailer boat or charter is needed. Longtail and mackerel tuna come within reach of land-based anglers and small boats in the north, often busting up over inshore bait.

Tuna Fishing in WA: Yellowfin, Southern Bluefin and the Rest

Tuna fishing in Western Australia is a tale of two coasts. Up north, off Exmouth, it’s yellowfin in warm blue water under wheeling birds. Down south, off Albany and Esperance, it’s southern bluefin in cold, heaving Southern Ocean swell that doesn’t care about your plans. Both involve long runs offshore, screaming reels, and the kind of arm-ache that turns into a story at the ramp. Neither happens unless the weather cooperates, which on the south coast it mostly doesn’t.

This is bluewater game fishing, so the entry fee is a seaworthy boat or a charter seat, decent gear, and a willingness to wait for the right window. What follows is where each species lives, when they show, how to catch them, and how to look after one once it’s on the deck — because a tuna handled badly is a wasted fish.

Yellowfin Tuna: The North West Cape

The headline yellowfin fishery is Exmouth and the North West Cape. Geography does the heavy lifting: the continental shelf and its canyons drop into deep water within a short run of the ramp, so you reach blue water and the temperature breaks where yellowfin tuna hunt without burning a tank of fuel getting there. Autumn into the cooler months is prime, and fish to 60kg-plus turn up — a long way removed from the school-sized models most anglers cut their teeth on.

Coral Bay and the wider Ningaloo coast share the same access to deep water, and the Dampier and Pilbara grounds produce yellowfin too. Closer to home, autumn schools push onto the shelf wide of Rottnest and the metro coast. The south coast around Albany and Esperance is fundamentally southern bluefin country — yellowfin are only an occasional warm-year visitor down there, not a run you’d plan a trip around. The pattern is the same wherever you find them: look for birds working bait balls, troll or cast the edges, and hang on when one eats. Yellowfin make long, screaming, deep runs that test drag washers and patience in equal measure.

Southern Bluefin Tuna: The South-Coast Prize

Southern bluefin tuna are the south coast’s marquee target, and the season runs from roughly March to July — autumn into winter. The draw is the shelf swinging close to shore off Albany, Bremer Bay and Esperance, which shortens the run to the deep water where the tuna stack up. Fish of 10 to 25kg — solid barrels — are common, and bigger ones are landed every season.

One thing to keep in mind: southern bluefin are an internationally quota-managed stock that was fished hard for decades and is still recovering. The fishery is back on its feet because of that management, not in spite of it. Keep one for the table if you want a feed, look after it properly, and release the rest in good condition rather than filling the kill tank for a photo. Keep what you’ll use.

The other non-negotiable down here is weather. The Southern Ocean serves up swell and wind that will turn a tuna trip into a survival exercise, and the fishable windows are short and infrequent. Watch the forecast like it owes you money, and don’t talk yourself into a marginal day.

Longtail and Mackerel Tuna: Northern Light Tackle

Further north, longtail tuna — sometimes called northern bluefin — and mackerel tuna are the light-tackle sport fish. They come within reach of small boats and, at times, land-based anglers casting into inshore bust-ups around the Pilbara and Gascoyne. Pound for pound they fight as hard as anything that swims, which is the appeal, because the eating is a different story: both carry dark, strong, bloody flesh that most anglers rate as ordinary at best. Plenty get released or turned into bait. Fish them for the fight, not the fillet.

Technique and Gear

Two methods cover most WA tuna. Trolling skirted lures — Pakula-style heads are the local default — and deep divers along the shelf edge, temperature breaks and current lines puts a spread in front of fish you can’t see. Casting metal slugs and stickbaits into surface bust-ups, where tuna corral bait against the top, is the visual, heart-in-mouth way to hook one. A cube or berley trail will hold a school once you find them.

Gear has to match the fish. For yellowfin and southern bluefin, run game outfits in the 15kg to 24kg class, or heavy spin — a 10000 to 14000 reel loaded with 50 to 80lb braid and an 80 to 130lb leader. That’s serious tackle, but a 25kg-plus tuna doesn’t negotiate. Longtail and mackerel tuna let you scale right down to lighter spin, which is the whole point of chasing them. Pelagic regulars often carry tuna gear alongside outfits for wahoo, Spanish mackerel and samson fish, all of which can crash the same spread.

Bag Limits and Rules

All tunas — yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), southern bluefin (Thunnus maccoyii), longtail, bigeye, mackerel tuna, skipjack and dogtooth — sit in WA’s large pelagic finfish category. There is no minimum legal size on any tuna, and they count within a TOTAL mixed-species daily bag limit of 3 per fisher, statewide. That bag of three is shared across the whole large pelagic group, so it also covers mackerel, mahi mahi, wahoo, samsonfish and kingfish combined — three fish from that category, full stop, not three of each. Rules change, so confirm the current limits with DPIRD before you head out.

Eating and Handling

A tuna is only as good as the first ten minutes after it hits the deck. Yellowfin and southern bluefin are prime sashimi and searing fish, but only if you treat them right: bleed the fish immediately by cutting the gill arches, spike or iki-spike it to stop the muscle burning energy, and get it straight into an ice and seawater brine slurry. Warm tuna left flopping on a hot deck turns mushy and grey within the hour. Done properly, southern bluefin belly — the toro cut — is as good as eating gets in this state.

Tuna fishing in WA rewards the prepared and punishes the impatient. Pick your window, look after your catch, and check the BiteCompass forecast before you commit to the run offshore.