Calories in Fish tuna, light

What makes fish tuna so powerful?

Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), the primary species sold as canned light tuna, lacks a swim bladder, meaning it must constantly swim forward to maintain buoyancy and oxygenate its gills. This perpetual motion shapes its physiology: the muscle fibers are densely packed with myoglobin to sustain aerobic activity, giving the meat its characteristic pinkish-tan color. Because skipjack grow rapidly and reach maturity in about a year, they accumulate less methylmercury in their tissues than longer-lived apex predators like albacore or bluefin. This biological difference is why public health organizations often recommend canned light tuna over white tuna for frequent seafood consumers and children. During the commercial canning process, the fish is cooked once, then cleaned of skin and bones, and packed into cans with water or oil before a second cooking step sterilizes the final product. This retort cooking alters the protein structure, making it flaky while preserving the vast majority of its omega-3 fatty acids and selenium.