Skipjack tuna important prey species for sharks and large pelagic fishes and is often used as live bait when fishing for Marlin. It has no scales, except on the lateral line and the corselet (a band of large, thick scales forming a circle around the body behind the head). It commonly reaches fork lengths up to and a weight of . Its maximum fork length is and maximum weight is . Ageing skipjack tuna is difficult, and the estimates of its potential lifespan range between 8 and 12 years. Skipjack tuna is a batch spawner. Spawning occurs year-round in equatorial waters, but
HMS Skipjack (1889) and in clearing this minefield. On 18 November 1914 "Skipjack" and the gunboat were about to start a minesweeping run in the channel between Fair Island and North Ronaldsay when "Skipjack" commanding officer sighted the conning tower of the German submarine "U-22". The two gunboats set off at full speed in pursuit, but the submarine outpaced them and dived to safety after a chase of 45 minutes. On the evening of 24 November 1914, the German submarine "U-16" was off the east coast of the Orkneys when she was spotted by a group of trawlers that were minesweeping. The trawlers