Atlantic Bonito Buyer's Guide: Sizes, Season and HS Codes

What a bonito fish is, bonito vs tuna, skipjack, false albacore and mackerel, Turkish size names, season, histamine, HS codes and what to confirm when buying.

What is a bonito fish? Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda)

The Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda, is a bonito fish of the family Scombridae, the family that groups mackerels, tunas and bonitos. In Turkish it is called palamut. FishBase records it in the eastern Atlantic from Norway to South Africa, in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and in the western Atlantic. It reaches a maximum of 91.4 cm fork length and 11 kg, with a common length around 50 cm. Turkish bonito is a wild fish, caught by purse seine and gill net on its migration route between the Black Sea, the Marmara and the Aegean.

This guide is for wholesalers, importers, restaurants and hotels. It covers look-alike species, size names, season, histamine, HS codes and what to confirm before you order. Avalon supplies Turkish bonito whole round and as fillets; the specification is on our Atlantic bonito product page.

Bonito vs tuna, skipjack, false albacore and mackerel

Bonito vs tuna is a question of genus: same family, but Atlantic bonito is Sarda, and the tariff classifies bonitos with mackerels, not tunas. Frozen fish in a carton is hard to identify, so check a few fish from the first lot:

• Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda): stripes on the back, plain silver belly; Black Sea fish show regular dark and light bands from head to tail.
• Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis): the opposite pattern. Dark stripes on the belly, no markings on the back.
• False albacore or little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), yazılı orkinos in Turkish: wavy bands on the rear of the back and at least three black spots below the pectoral fin.
• Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus): 23 to 33 dark wavy bands across the back and a velvety skin. Usually 300-500 g at 30-35 cm; over 1 kg is exceptional.

False albacore vs bonito is the substitution that matters in practice. The Turkish meat agency ESK notes that little tunny is sold as palamut in the Aegean and tastes clearly inferior. Turkish law separates them too: minimum landing size is 25 cm for bonito and 45 cm for little tunny.

Bonito size names in Türkiye: where 300-900 g sits

Turkish names each size of the same fish. The order is the same in every source, but the centimetre cut-offs disagree. ESK ranges, with a second scheme based on SÜMAE and Istanbul municipality sources:

• Vanoz (vonoz): up to 20 cm in ESK, 12-16 cm in the second scheme
• Çingene palamudu: 20-30 cm in ESK, 22-28 cm in the second scheme
• Palamut: 31-40 cm in ESK, 28-35 cm in the second scheme
• Kestane palamudu: 40-50 cm in ESK, 16-22 cm in the second scheme
• Torik: 51-60 cm in ESK, 40-45 cm in the second scheme
• Sivri, altıparmak, piçuta and zindandelen: sizes above torik

On the FishBase length-weight model, 300 g is roughly 31 cm and 900 g roughly 44 cm, a model estimate rather than a measurement. On the ESK scale that is palamut size, so we call it palamut, not torik; news reports use torik for fish typically over 3 kg. Read quotes by gram band, not name.

Bonito season in Türkiye: closed period, migration and catch swings

The Turkish bonito season opens on 15 August each year. Commercial fishing regulation 6/1 (Tebliğ 2024/20) applies from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2028 and closes bonito fishing from 1 April to 14 August in all Turkish waters and for all gear. An April 2025 amendment moved the end of the closure from 31 August to 14 August. Minimum landing size is 25 cm; smaller fish may not be caught, landed, transported or sold.

Migration sets supply. Bonito enters the Black Sea between late April and mid-August to spawn and feed, starts back toward the Aegean at the end of September, moves most heavily in November and December, and winters in the Marmara. ESK says palamut size arrives from September and the fish is fattiest from early September to mid-February.

Catch volume swings hard. According to TEPGE, using TÜİK data, the Turkish catch was 49,892 tonnes in 2022, 2,083 tonnes in 2023 and 49,278 tonnes in 2024. No exact 2025 figure has been published; TÜİK's bulletin implies it was below about 19,700 tonnes. For a buyer, volume and size mix in one season cannot be assumed from the last.

Atlantic bonito nutrition

TürKomp, the Turkish national food composition database, gives these mean values per 100 g of raw edible bonito:

• Energy: 216 kcal (905 kJ)
• Protein: 20.16 g
• Total fat: 15.07 g; saturated 4.60 g, monounsaturated 3.72 g, polyunsaturated 4.49 g
• Omega 3: EPA 1.017 g and DHA 2.555 g, about 3.57 g combined
• Vitamin D: 14.6 µg; vitamin B12: 4.21 µg
• Selenium: 39.2 µg; niacin: 13.58 mg
• Potassium 368 mg, phosphorus 234 mg, sodium 59 mg, cholesterol 53 mg

Bonito is an oily fish, and fat content varies with season and size. One more figure matters to buyers: 2,180 mg of histidine per 100 g, which is the source of the histamine risk covered next.

Frozen bonito and histamine: cold chain and limits

Bonito is a scombroid, histamine-forming species, like mackerel and tuna. If the fish is not chilled fast enough after capture, bacteria convert histidine to histamine. Histamine is not destroyed by freezing, cooking or washing. The quality of frozen bonito is therefore set in the hours before it reaches the freezer and cannot be corrected later.

In the EU, Regulation (EC) 2073/2005 sets the limits: 9 samples, a mean of no more than 100 mg/kg, no more than 2 samples between 100 and 200 mg/kg, and none above 200 mg/kg. In the US, FDA guidance finalised in November 2024 treats one sample unit at 35 ppm or above as a decomposition signal. Ask for these in writing:

• A histamine analysis report for each lot
• Storage and transport at -18 °C or colder, with a temperature record where possible
• Freezing method (blast or plate, IQF or block), glaze percentage and net weight declared excluding glaze
• Best-before date stated on the supplier's specification

Thaw under refrigeration, at 5 °C or below. We found no published shelf life figure specific to frozen bonito, so it is confirmed per order.

HS codes and export documents for bonito

Since HS 2012, bonitos (Sarda spp.) sit with mackerels, herrings and anchovies, not tunas. No Turkish national line names Sarda sarda, so it falls under Other:

• Frozen whole round bonito: HS 0303.59, Turkish GTİP 0303.59.90.00.00
• Fresh or chilled whole bonito: HS 0302.49, GTİP 0302.49.90.00.00
• Frozen bonito fillet: HS 0304.89, GTİP 0304.89.90.00.00
• Fresh or chilled fillet: HS 0304.49, GTİP 0304.49.90.00.00

The likely misclassification is 0303.89.40 and 0304.89.49, which the Turkish tariff labels Palamut-torik. Those lines cover Orcynopsis unicolor, a different species; Sarda sarda does not belong there. Likewise 0303.43 and 0304.87 are skipjack, which the Turkish tariff glosses as yazılı orkinos. Confirm the 12-digit line with your customs broker before the first shipment.

Marine catch entering the EU needs a flag-state catch certificate, handled through the CATCH IT system since 10 January 2026, plus an EU official health certificate from an approved establishment. For the Gulf, see our guide to importing frozen fish from Türkiye to the UAE.

Whole round bonito or bonito fillet: HoReCa use

Whole round bonito is ungutted, head-on fish. Kitchens that grill or bake whole fish, or cut their own steaks, prefer it. A bonito fillet takes trimming labour and waste out of the kitchen and makes portion control easier. Fillet yield drives the price gap between whole and fillet; we found no published yield figure for bonito, so it is confirmed per order.

ESK recommends grilling and baking for in-season bonito, which is very fatty. Pan-frying suits the months outside the peak. As a dark-fleshed fish, it is not recommended for steaming or soup.

Lakerda, the Istanbul salt-cured meze, is traditionally made from torik, and today often from palamut because torik is scarce. ESK says larger, fattier fish are preferred for it. Thick steaks are packed in salt with bay leaf and rested cool for 2-3 weeks; above 6-7 °C the flesh softens.

What drives the wholesale bonito price

We publish no price figures; a bonito quote is built from these variables:

• Size: 300-500 g and 700-900 g do not sell at the same price, and a single band prices differently from a graded one
• Season and catch volume: TEPGE data show first-sale prices rose sharply in 2023, when the catch fell to 2,083 tonnes, and eased in 2024 when it returned to 49,278 tonnes
• Form: fresh or frozen, and the freezing method
• Whole round or fillet: fillets carry labour and yield loss
• Glaze: the percentage, and whether net weight excludes it
• Volume and incoterm, for example EXW, FOB, CFR or CIF

What to confirm when buying bonito wholesale

1. Species: Sarda sarda, with the scientific name on the label and the health certificate
2. Form: fresh or frozen; if frozen, blast or plate, IQF or block
3. Size: 300-900 g as one band, or graded, for example 300-500, 500-700 and 700-900 g
4. Packing: 10 kg styrofoam cartons for whole round, 10 kg bulk pack in carton for fillets, and the carton label details
5. Glaze percentage and net weight excluding glaze
6. Histamine analysis report for each lot
7. Catch and freezing dates, and best-before date
8. HS line and the document set for the destination: veterinary health certificate, certificate of origin, catch certificate where required
9. Lead time and incoterm

Working with Avalon

Avalon supplies Atlantic bonito (palamut, Sarda sarda) from Türkiye in two forms: whole round, 300-900 g, packed in 10 kg styrofoam cartons; and fillets, in a 10 kg bulk pack in carton. Fresh or frozen form, freezing method, glaze and lead time are confirmed per order. For wholesalers, importers, restaurants and hotels, quotes are given on request through the bonito product page. For farmed species, see our Turkish aquaculture buyer's guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bonito a tuna?

Not exactly. Bonito and tuna belong to the same family, Scombridae, but Atlantic bonito is in a separate genus, Sarda. Customs tariffs treat them differently too: frozen bonito is classified with mackerels and herrings under HS 0303.59, not with the tunas. Bonito is also smaller, commonly around 50 cm long.

What is the difference between false albacore and bonito?

False albacore, or little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), has wavy marks on the rear of the back and several dark spots below the pectoral fin. Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda) has straight oblique stripes along the back and a plain silver belly, with no spots. In Türkiye the little tunny is called yazılı orkinos, has a 45 cm minimum landing size, and is sometimes sold as bonito.

Bonito vs skipjack: how do you tell them apart?

Look at where the stripes are. Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) has dark stripes on the belly and no markings on the back. Bonito has the opposite: stripes on the back and a plain silver belly. They also sit in different tariff lines, skipjack under 0303.43 and frozen bonito under 0303.59, so the species name on the documents matters.

When is bonito season in Türkiye?

The season opens on 15 August; bonito fishing is closed from 1 April to 14 August. Small fish appear first in the Black Sea in August and palamut size arrives from September. The fish migrates back toward the Marmara and Aegean from late September, most heavily in November and December. ESK describes it as fattiest from early September to mid-February.

Is bonito fish good to eat?

Yes, it is a widely eaten oily fish in Türkiye. Per 100 g raw it gives 216 kcal, 20.16 g protein and about 3.57 g of EPA and DHA, according to TürKomp. ESK recommends grilling and baking in season. As a scombroid species it must be chilled fast and kept cold, so ask for a histamine report for each lot.