Yellowfin Tuna

Habitat Distribution

• A wide-ranging pelagic species found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide; not native to South Africa but seasonally present in its waters.
• In South Africa, concentrated in the South-West Cape region — the convergence zone near Cape Point where Indian Ocean warm water wraps around into the cold Atlantic upwelling.
• Found 10–50 nautical miles offshore, along and beyond the continental shelf edge at a feature locals call "the Canyon."
• Water temperature drives their presence: skippers start fishing once surface temps exceed 18°C, which marks the warm-water edge where bait and tuna stack up.

Key Locations

• Cape Point / the Canyon — the primary offshore grounds where the Benguela and Agulhas currents converge, 10–40 nm offshore.
• Hout Bay — the main departure harbour for Cape Town tuna charters, with multiple established operators.
• Simon's Town and Miller's Point — alternative launch points for the same offshore grounds, used depending on weather and sea state.

Specific Spots

• The temperature break — the line where warm Agulhas water meets cold Benguela upwelling — is the primary holding zone; skippers run SST charts to find it before they fish.
• The Canyon, near the continental shelf edge roughly 10–40 nm off Cape Point, concentrates bait and draws yellowfin; look for birds working the surface or baitfish marks on the sounder.
• Schools often hold near the surface when bait is up; when fish sound, they can go deep, so depth-reading the sounder matters as much as watching the birds.