Abstract A meta-analysis of the straight fork lengths (herewith abbreviated as L) of 2,458,028 Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (L.), taken from 224 scientific publications and unpublished L data from scientific organizations and fishing companies spanning most of the known Atlantic and Mediterranean Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries dating from 1605 to 2011, give L values ranging from L min = 20 cm and L max = 330 cm. The results indicate that the parameter L ∞ = 318.85 cm of the growth equation used by ICCAT's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics Atlantic bluefin tuna assessment group for the eastern stock (Lt = 318.85 [1 – e−0.093 (t + 0.97)]) lies within the confidence limits of the maximum Ls presented in the study: L max = 319.93 ± 11.3 cm, confirming that this equation perfectly fits the biology of the growth of this species. These conclusions are also valid for the equation for the western stock (Lt = 314.90 [1 – e−0.089 (t +1.13)]). The ICCAT Atlantic bluefin tuna database contains numerous records of Atlantic bluefin tuna L outside the biological feasibility, and solutions are provided to recognize and remove these outliers based on the application of fixed values of Fulton's condition factor (K) between 1.4 and 2.6 and appropriate L-W relationships to correct this situation in the future. Keywords: growth L max L ∞ W max outliersAtlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the continued work carried out by the ICCAT Secretariat in maintaining the ICCAT Statistical Databases. A special word of gratitude goes to Carlos Palma for his assistance during the selection of the biggest and most appropriate records to be utilized for the analysis carried out during the work presented in this article. The authors also thank Antonio Di Natale, coordinator of the ICCAT Atlantic wide research programme for Bluefin Tuna (GBYP), for his contribution to the discussions presented herein. Notes As the ICCAT ABFT database available via Internet does not contain all years included in the analysis, the ICCAT Data Record was then used.