The bluefin trevally is distributed throughout the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from Eastern Africa in the west to Central America in the east, including Japan in the north and Australia in the south.

Juveniles lack these obvious colours, and must be identified by more detailed anatomical features such as fin ray and scute counts.

The bluefin trevally reproduces at different periods throughout its range, and reaches sexual maturity at 30–40 cm in length and around 2 years of age.

The rapid decimation of the Hawaiian population due to overfishing has led to increased research in the aquaculture potential of the species, with spawning achieved in captivity.

[3] The species was first scientifically described by the famed French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1833 based on specimens collected off Waigio, Indonesia; one of which was designated to be the holotype.

[5] This is still currently considered the correct placement, however later authors placed in other now defunct genera (Carangus and Carangichthys) which has since been deemed incorrect, and the original classification stands.

[7] The upper body of the bluefin trevally is a silver-brassy colour, fading to silvery white on the underside of the fish, often with blue hues.

After they reach lengths greater than 16 cm, blue-black spots appear on the upper flanks of the fish, with these becoming more prolific with age.

[7] The bluefin trevally is widely distributed, occupying the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging along the coasts of four continents and hundreds of smaller islands and archipelagos.

The species' range extends eastwards along the Asian coastline including Pakistan, India and into South East Asia, the Indonesian Archipelago and northern Australia.

[17] In the inshore environment, the species is present in almost all settings including bays, harbours, coral and rocky reefs, lagoons, sand flats and seagrass meadows.

[23] Individuals of between 40 and 170 mm have been recorded in South African estuaries, where they are the least tolerant carangid to the brackish and freshwater conditions of these systems.

[23] The bluefin trevally is a schooling species as a juvenile, transitioning to a more solitary fish with well defined home ranges as an adult.

DMSP is a naturally occurring chemical produced by marine algae and to a lesser extent corals and their symbiotic zooxanthellae.

[27] Long-term studies have found the fish may range up to 10.2 km over several months, however, is much less restricted in its movements than its relative, the giant trevally.

The main difference in these populations was the relative lack of large adult fish in the inhabited areas compared to the remote, unfished regions.

[30] The bluefin trevally is a fast swimming, mainly piscivorous predator[31] which shows a wide range in hunting techniques.

Despite the preference of several families, bluefin trevally do take a very wide variety of fish in small amounts, including various species of eel.

[33] Cephalopods (mainly octopus or squid)[22] and a wide array of crustaceans are also taken in smaller quantities, with shrimps, stomatopods and crabs being the most common.

[19] Juveniles less than 170 mm in South African estuaries feed predominantly on mysids and paenid prawns, before shifting to a more fish based diet at larger sizes.

[17] Calculations suggest each individual bluefin trevally consumes around 45 kg of fish per year on average, making it one of the most effective predators in this habitat.

[17] The bluefin trevally displays a remarkable array of hunting techniques, ranging from midwater attacks to ambush and taking advantage of larger forage fish.

[25] In groups, these fish will rush their prey, and disperse the school, allowing for isolated individuals to be picked out and eaten,[25] much in the way the related species, giant trevally have been observed to do in captivity.

[25] Another method of attack is ambush; in this mode the trevally change their colour to a dark pigmentation state and hide behind large coral lumps close to where the aggregations (often spawning reef fish) occur.

[17] This model also suggests a growth of 0.45 mm/day; while laboratory feeding studies found the fish grow at an average of 0.4 mm/day in these confined conditions.

[38] The bluefin trevally is an important species to both commercial fisheries and anglers, with the popularity of the fish leading to extensive aquaculture trials.

The catch statistics for the bluefin trevally are poorly reported in most of its range, with only parts of the western Indian Ocean supplying information to the FAO.

It was concluded that such a technique carried out on a larger scale in lagoons would be promising due to the growth rate and relatively high price commanded by the species at market.

[44] An in vitro cell culture has recently been established for the species, which will allow long term management of potential viral diseases that may arise during aquaculture of the fish.

In this case, the parasite invaded the victim's body by entering an open wound while he was filleting the species, and is believed to be one of the first records for such cross contamination.