You’ve probably seen the label ‘Dolphin-safe’ on tinned tuna in your local grocery store. It sounds great. It gives our imagination thoughts of dolphins swimming freely through the ocean without harm, fisherman smiling as they bring in large nets of tuna, and allows us to think we are being environmentally friendly.
What isn’t mentioned on the can, is millions of other species are being caught as a replacement.
Firstly, lets set this straight. There are many types of tuna. The most commonly fished types are:
- Blue-fin tuna – has been recommended against eating since the southern blue-fin is endangered and the northern blue-fin is close to being endangered. This tuna is native to the Atlantic ocean, but cultivated off the coast of Japan and is now commonly used in sushi.
- Yellow-fin tuna – the second most commercially caught tuna, but is listed as endangered especially in the Mediterranean. The EU has placed fishing quotas on the fish and if they aren’t kept, the fish may go extinct in as little as 15-years. This fish is mostly caught off the west coast of the United States and is seen as over-fished. This tuna is the most common to swim with dolphins and is sold both as frozen and in canned form.
- Skipjack tuna – the most commonly caught tuna (although it isn’t really a tuna). It is often canned with the label ‘light meat’ in North America. This fish swims in large schools but don’t associate with dolphins. However, they are an important diet for many sharks and other large fish. This makes it easy for non-Skipjack (including turtles and other juvenile tuna) to be caught in purse seine nets.
- Blackfin tuna – the smallest tuna species. This fish is short lived and fast growing. Unlike many other tunas, Blackfin are found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic ocean from Cape Cod to Brazil. This fish is commercially caught mostly in the Caribbean but is sport fished in other areas. Blackfin is generally of excellent quality and is sold fresh, canned, and frozen. Blackfin are not listed as endangered or threatened.
- Bigeye tuna – fished commercially worldwide but are seen as threatened. They are over-fished due to juvenile Bigeyes association with logs and other floating objects making them especially susceptible to purse seine fishing. Bigeye also mature at a later age than other tunas.
- Albacore tuna – do not swim in tight schools so are seen as a tougher catch. The stocks are at record highs in the north and south Pacific but are endangered in the north and south Atlantic. Alabcore do not swim with dolphins.
Almost all tuna are caught using purse seine nets and FAD. These devices are used to attract fish in the area of the net (along with their predators and swimming companions). Over 1 million fish and 100,000 by-catch (mostly sharks, dolphins, larger fish, whales, and turtles) are caught using FAD. Due to this practice, the bycatch has resulted in the threatening and near extinction of many different ocean species.
Even with this practice, the US Consumers Union has noted that there is no guarantee any “Dolphin-safe” tunas are in fact dolphin-safe because there is no universal or independent verification. Sadly, most tinned tuna does not educate consumers on the fishing methods used nor the type of tuna.
Nonetheless, there is still hope for tuna and environment lovers.
The U.S. North and South Pacific albacore pole & line and troll fisheries are seen as the only sustainable tuna fisheries in the world by the Marine Stewardship Council. Albacore is seen as the best choice for consumers since the industry is sustainable, eco-friendly (since there is little per catch, it is easy for the fisherman to spot non-Albacores and throw them back.
Now, the only problem is finding a place where Albacore is sold.
It should be noted that Albacore are listed as endangered in some parts of the world, specifically India. If you are in one of those areas, finding another tuna solution may be more difficult.
Written: Jun 12, 2009
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