Bluefin Tuna - IELTS Reading Answers

Successfully completing a single passage like ‘Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers’ instills confidence, particularly in beginners. These small yet meaningful victories are essential in maintaining motivation and transforming the full-length IELTS reading recent actual tests into a more manageable challenge. With each achievement, your confidence grows, becoming a formidable advantage when exam day arrives.

Solve the questions with the passage ‘Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers’ given below. Then, check your answers against the provided location and explanations, and improve your performance in the reading module with the given tips for each question type.

Passage for Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers

The Reading Answers passage ‘Bluefin Tuna’ offers valuable practice for the IELTS reading test. Focusing on this passage and similar IELTS Reading topics for General and Academic will significantly enhance your skills in tackling various passages in the actual exam.

Bluefin Tuna

Three species of bluefin tuna are found around the world – Northern or Atlantic bluefin tuna, Southern bluefin tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna. Atlantic bluefin tuna is divided into two stocks.

The western stock is harvested off the coast of North America by Canada, Japan, and the United States, and the eastern stock is harvested off the coast of Europe and Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Fisheries for bluefin tuna date back thousands of years in the Mediterranean, but did not emerge in the western Atlantic until the 1950’s. Although today they are widely known as the most prized species of tuna, there was no commercial market for western Atlantic bluefin tuna until then. In fact, fishermen regarded giant bluefin tuna as a nuisance because of the damage they caused to fishing gear. However, as sushi and sashimi markets in Japan developed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the demand and prices for bluefin tuna increased and so did fishing pressure around the world.

Since bluefin tuna are late to mature, slow growing, and long-lived, they are especially susceptible to fishing pressure, compared to faster growing, more productive species. Bluefin tuna grow more slowly than other tunas and have a long life span, up to 20 years or more, and generally do not spawn until they are about eight years old. Because many nations harvest bluefin tuna, effective conservation and management of this resource depend on strong international cooperation. The United States has taken many steps to conserve and manage US fisheries for Atlantic bluefin tuna since the early 1980’s. It is due in part to these measures and US efforts internationally that Atlantic bluefin tuna are no longer subject to overfishing.

Today, international fisheries for western Atlantic bluefin tuna are highly regulated. The most recent annual catch level set is expected to support continued growth and recovery of the stock. Strict controls are in place to ensure compliance, on the water, in port, and at the marketplace, through the implementation of the catch documentation scheme, which allows trade tracking for individual shipments of fish.

Finally, because the western and eastern stocks mix, western Atlantic bluefin tuna are also affected by the fishing pressure in the eastern Atlantic that took place in the eastern Atlantic/ Mediterranean during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. However, in recent years, catches in the eastern Atlantic have been reduced to levels consistent with scientific advice, and new monitoring and control measures have been adopted to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing on that stock. Scientists advise that improved stock conservation in the eastern Atlantic would likely benefit the western stock as well.

The news is not so good for bluefin tuna in other parts of the world. Data recently released shows that there is almost no more bluefin tuna to be fished in some of the oldest fishing grounds, especially in the West Mediterranean. Around Spain’s Balearic Islands, catches of bluefin tuna are down to only 15 percent of what they were just a decade ago. In Australia, there is a similar story and the southern bluefin tuna stock is at historically low levels, with less than 10 per cent of the virgin stock left, and little significant progress in preventing the overharvesting that is driving the species further towards extinction.

Because of the value of bluefin tuna, scientists are trying to work out ways of farming the species. The vision is to have huge tanks, land-based, having bluefin tuna that are spawning year-round on demand, producing millions of eggs. These eggs would hatch and grow into a plentiful supply of tuna. There are, however, problems associated with rearing bluefin tuna. First of all, the larvae that hatch from the eggs are extremely fragile. Because of their heavy heads, the larvae tend to go downwards. If they hit the bottom of a tank, the shock is too much and they do not survive. After this, a significant problem is the appetite of the bluefin tuna. A bluefin tuna’s natural diet consists of lots of other fish. Just supplying the amount of fish needed for bluefin tuna to grow would be difficult and expensive, without even considering the harm to the environment of taking that many wild feed fish from the sea. Right now, there are tuna ranches that capture young tuna in the ocean and then fatten them up in big net-pens. These ranches feed their tuna about 15 pounds of fish, such as sardines or mackerel for each additional pound of tuna that can be sold to consumers. This kind of tuna production is environmentally costly.

Some scientists have theorised that it will be possible to reduce this ratio or even create tuna feed that does not rely so heavily on other fish as an ingredient. The effect on the taste of the bluefin tuna’s flesh though may make the product less valuable and destroy the whole point of producing bluefin tuna cheaply.

Other experts say that these problems show that bluefin tuna farming is not the path to follow, as farming bluefin tuna just increases the population of a predator species that demands lots of food itself. It might do more good to eat a little lower on the marine food chain. People could eat more mussels or sardines and let more tuna roam free to be sustainably caught within quota systems and premium-priced.

Questions for Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers 

The ‘Bluefin Tuna’ is an IELTS Academic Reading passage with 13 questions. The question types in this reading passage include:

• IELTS Reading Matching Endings (Q. 14-16)
• IELTS Reading Sentence Completion (Q. 17-21)
• IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q. 22-26)

Questions 14-16

14 Bluefin tuna were not widely fished for outside the Mediterranean in the 1940’s, because

15 Fishermen in the past did not want to catch bluefin tuna, because

16 Bluefin tuna are extremely vulnerable to overfishing, because

A they take a long time to grow to adulthood.

B the fish damaged their equipment.

C the fish are not found in freshwater.

D the fish were suspected to cause various types of cancer.

E there was no significant market for them.

Questions 17-21

17 …………… between the relevant countries will be needed if bluefin tuna resources are to be managed in a sustainable fashion.

18 Any caught bluefin tuna can be tracked in North America due to the use of the ……………..

19 ………….. in the eastern stocks has affected the numbers of the western Atlantic bluefin tuna.

20 Bluefin tuna catches are down to …………….. of what they were previously near the Balearic Islands.

21 …………… is a real danger due to the overharvesting of the southern bluefin tuna.

Questions 22-26

FARMING BLUEFIN TUNA

Scientists are working on how to develop large-scale bluefin tuna farms to rear them from egg to adults, with fish 22…………….. all year. Obstacles are the 23…………….. of bluefin larvae, which means they die easily, and the amount of fish needed to feed them until they reach harvest size. Some operating farms capture 24………….. to feed up, but this too is environmentally damaging. 

One solution is that a non-fish based feed can be used, but this may affect the product’s taste. It could be that bluefin tuna are not meant to be farmed and that people should eat fewer 25…………. fish and allow the bluefin tuna to become a 26…………….. meal.

Answers for Bluefin Tuna with Location and Explanations

It is now time to verify your answers using the answer key below for the Bluefin Tuna IELTS Reading Answers. Make sure to create strategies based on the feedback from this practice and master IELTS Reading question types with examples.

14 Answer: E

Question type: Matching Sentence Endings

Answer location: Paragraph 3, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation: The selected lines says that “Fisheries for bluefin tuna date back thousands of years in the Mediterranean, but did not emerge in the western Atlantic until the 1950’s. Although today they are widely known as the most prized species of tuna, there was no commercial market for western Atlantic bluefin tuna until then.” This tells us that although bluefin tuna was popular in the Mediterranean region, outside this area it was not popular before the 1950s as it did not have a significant commercial market. Hence the answer is E.

15 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Sentence Endings

Answer location: Paragraph 3, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation: The line of Paragraph 3, it is said that “In fact, fishermen regarded giant bluefin tuna as a nuisance because of the damage they caused to fishing gear.” This supports the fact that fishermen in the past did not want to catch bluefin tuna, because the fish damaged their fishing gear (equipment). Hence the answer is B.

16 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Sentence Endings

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation: The lines in this paragraph says that “Since bluefin tuna are late to mature, slow growing, and long-lived, they are especially susceptible to fishing pressure, compared to faster growing, more productive species.” These sentences point out that bluefin tuna are extremely vulnerable (susceptible) to overfishing (fishing pressure) because they take a long time (are late) to grow to adulthood (mature). Hence the answer is A .

17 Answer: (strong) (international) co-operation

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 4- line 5

Answer explanation: In the specified line, it is stated that “Because many nations harvest bluefin tuna, effective conservation and management of this resource depend on strong international cooperation.” In other words, to manage bluefin tuna resources in a sustainable fashion, strong international cooperation between various nations/countries is needed. Hence, the answer is (strong) (international) co-operation.

18 Answer: (catch) documentation scheme

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 3- line 5

Answer explanation: The mentioned lines from Paragraph 5 says that “Strict controls are in place to ensure compliance, on the water, in port, and at the marketplace, through the implementation of the catch documentation scheme, which allows trade tracking for individual shipments of fish.” These lines make it clear that in western Atlantic or North America any bluefin tuna that is caught is tracked by implementation of the catch documentation scheme. Hence the answer is (catch) documentation scheme.

19 Answer: (fishing) pressure

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, line 1- line 3

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph 6 says that “Finally, because the western and eastern stocks mix, western Atlantic bluefin tuna are also affected by the fishing pressure in the eastern Atlantic that took place in the eastern Atlantic/ Mediterranean during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.” As it is clear that the numbers of the western Atlantic bluefin tuna have been affected by the fishing pressure in the easern Atlantic, the answer is (fishing) pressure.

20 Answer: 15%

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 7, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation: The specified lines state that “Around Spain’s Balearic Islands, catches of bluefin tuna are down to only 15 percent of what they were just a decade ago.” So, it is clear that the bluefin tuna catches are down to 15% of what they were previously (just a decade ago) near the Balearic Islands. Hence the answer is 15%.

21 Answer: extinction

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 7, line 6 – line 7

Answer explanation: The given lines mention that “…little significant progress in preventing the overharvesting that is driving the species further towards extinction.” It states that due to the overharvesting of the southern bluefin tuna in Australia, extinction has been the real danger to this species. Hence the answer is extinction.

22 Answer: reproducing

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 7, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation: The relevant lines say that “Because of the value of bluefin tuna, scientists are trying to work out ways of farming the species. The vision is to have huge tanks, land-based, having bluefin tuna that are spawning year-round on demand, producing millions of eggs.” From this line, we can conclude that scientists are trying to work on how to develop large-scale bluefin tuna farms (huge tanks) to rear them from egg

to adults, with fish reproducing (spawning) on demand all year . Hence the answer is reproducing.

23 Answer: fragility

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 7, line 4 – line 5

Answer explanation: The provided lines says that “There are, however, problems associated with rearing bluefin tuna. First of all, the larvae that hatch from the eggs are extremely fragile.”  As it is clear from the statement that obstacles (problems) are the fragility (extremely fragile) of bluefin larvae, that is they die easily, the answer is fragility.

24 Answer: juveniles

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 7, line 10 – line 11

Answer explanation: The given line says that “Right now, there are tuna ranches that capture young tuna in the ocean and then fatten them up in big net-pens.” This statement points out that some operating farms or tuna ranches capture young tuna or juveniles. to feed up. Hence the answer is juveniles.

25 Answer: predatory

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 10, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph 10 says that “People could eat more mussels or sardines and let more tuna roam free to be sustainably caught within quota systems and premium-priced.” From this reference, we can conclude that bluefin tuna are to be let more tuna roam free (not meant to be farmed) and that people should eat fewer

predatory fish like mussels and sardines. Hence the answer is predatory.

26 Answer: luxury

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 10, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation: The following lines from the last paragraph says that “People could eat more mussels or sardines and let more tuna roam free to be sustainably caught within quota systems and premium-priced.” From this reference, we can conclude that more tuna roam free and allow the bluefin tuna to become a luxury (premium) meal. Hence the answer is luxury.

Tips to Solve the Passage Question Types in the Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers 

Let's explore some quick IELTS Reading tips and techniques to increase your reading speed and overall comprehension for answering the passage questions in the Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers.

Matching Sentence Endings

• Read only the sentence stem first: Before looking at options A–E, read the sentence up to the comma and identify what kind of reason is required (cause, result, limitation, vulnerability). For example, ‘because’ signals that the answer must explain why something happened.
• Predict the idea, not the exact wording: Try to anticipate the type of explanation needed (economic, biological, historical) before scanning the text. This prevents distraction by options that are factually true but logically mismatched.
• Locate the paragraph by time reference or theme: Dates like ‘1940s’ or phrases like ‘in the past’ help you jump directly to the correct paragraph. IELTS usually places all answers for this task type within a narrow text range.
• Match meaning, then check grammar: Once you find the sentence in the passage, choose the option that paraphrases the reason, not just repeats a keyword. Finally, read the full sentence with the option added to confirm it sounds grammatically complete and logical.

Sentence Completion

• Underline the keywords and identify the missing word type: Decide whether the gap requires a noun, noun phrase, number, or concept. For example, “will be needed” strongly suggests an abstract noun phrase, not an action.
• Scan for paraphrased wording, not identical phrases: The sentence in the question will restate the passage using different wording. Look for synonyms (e.g. ‘managed sustainably’ → ‘effective conservation’).
• Copy directly from the passage: Do not change word forms or add articles unless they appear in the text. IELTS marks answers incorrect if they are paraphrased instead of copied, even when the meaning is correct.
• Re-check the word limit strictly: Count every word and number carefully. Answers exceeding the limit by even one extra word are automatically marked wrong.

Summary Completion

• Read the summary as a whole before using the word box: Understand the overall argument (here: challenges and ethics of farming bluefin tuna). This prevents you from choosing words that fit grammatically but contradict the summary’s logic.
• Predict the grammatical role of each gap: Decide whether each blank needs a verb (-ing form), noun, or adjective before checking the word box. This immediately eliminates half the options.
• Use the passage to confirm meaning, not just fit: Even though words are provided, you must still locate the relevant paragraph to confirm which option matches the idea exactly. IELTS often includes distractors that fit the sentence but not the passage meaning.
• Ensure logical flow across sentences: Read the completed summary again to check that ideas progress logically (problem → consequence → solution). If one word breaks the logic, it is likely incorrect.

Congratulations on completing the Bluefin Tuna Reading Answers! To achieve a high IELTS score, you should improve your reading speed, question comprehension, and information retrieval skills. So, to crack IELTS Reading in the first go, try solving more of the recent IELTS Reading practice tests and work on your comprehension skills.

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