Juvenile tuna are mainly caught on the continental shelf in the Great Australian Bight region from December to around April each year, and weigh on average . The tuna that are located are purse seined, and then transferred through underwater panels between nets to specialised tow pontoons. They are then towed back to farm areas adjacent to Port Lincoln at a rate of about 1 knot; this process can take several weeks. Once back at the farm sites, the tuna are transferred from the tow pontoons into diameter farm pontoons. They are then fed bait fish (usually a range of locally caught or imported small pelagic species such as sardines) six days per week, twice per day and "grown out" for three to eight months, reaching an average of . Because SBT swim so fast and are used to migrating long distances, they are difficult to keep in small pens. Their delicate skin can be easily damaged if touched by human hands and too much handling can be fatal.