More than just a delicious-and dangerously overfished-creature of the deep, the tuna is built for speed, its sleek, streamlined body darting through the water on a seemingly inexhaustible energy supply.

You may very well wish to honor your favorite catch in equally eye-catching tattoo form, but perhaps the tuna’s underlying symbolism aligns with your own values and individual qualities.

In dream analysis, the tuna represents stamina and the ability to overcome obstacles on one’s own terms. The tuna spends most of its life escaping predators and completing one perilous journey after the next in the name of sustenance and reproduction, and the threats that face it today are of man-made origins. Those with the tuna totem never stop venturing onward, seeking safety and abundance in previously uncharted waters.

These tuna tattoo ideas aren’t just a nod to a historical delicacy and culinary commodity, but the struggles we all must endure in the name of perseverance. All fish carry deeply mystical messages, as seen in numerous biblical tales and myths, and no matter where the tuna swims on your skin, you’re bound to receive its powerful bounty.

Whether it’s a passion for fishing, passion for eating, or appreciation for this spirit animal, your tuna fish tattoo speaks of your own complexities, and appreciation for what frequently escapes the average soul. As mighty as it is mouthwateringly delicious, the tuna fish is proof that nothing above or below is what it seems.