Introduction
Canned tuna quickly grew into one of the most popular seafood products in the United States due to low cost, and its source of protein; making it number two in the top ten consumed sea food products (Campling et al. 2007). Harvesting of the canned Tuna species has raised significant ecological issues and concerns related with economic and environmental sustainability (WWF n.p).
Types of Canned Tuna Species
There are five main commercial tuna species: Albacore, Yellowfin, Bluefin, Big Eye, and Skipjack. The most commonly canned species though include the Albacore Tuna, the Yellowfin tuna species, and the Skipjack tuna species (Canned Tuna, 2014). The following sections provide information regarding the biological species, habitat, trade name, fishing methods and their related advantages, disadvantages and the sustainability of the various canned tuna species.
Albacore Tuna
The scientific name for the Albacore tuna is the Thunnus Alalunga. It is typically a large fish, ranging at approximately 4 to 5 feet in length and weighs roughly 80-90 pounds. It is metallic, identified by a dark blue color running along its topside and a silvery white strip marking the sides of its belly. The Albacore are found in the tropical and warm temperate oceans. The specific locations of the species include the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. According to the sustainable canned tuna website, the Albacore Tuna is the most abundant and popular species of the canned fish because of its ability to survive in large populations in the temperate and tropical oceans. The trade name of the canned Albacore is the white meat tuna (Hilderbrand, 1-3).
Skipjack Tuna
Katsuwonus is the scientific name for the Skipjack tuna. It is a streaml...
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Marine Stewardship Council: Certified sustainable seafood. 2014. http://www.msc.org Miyake, Makoto, Patrice, Guillotreau, Chin-Hwa, Sun and Gakushi, Ishimura. Recent developments in the tuna industry: Stocks, fisheries, management, processing, trade and markets. Food and Agricultural Organization, 2010. http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1705e/i1705e.pdf Wild planet. Sustainably caught wild seafood: sustainability and fishing methods, 2014. Web. 3 April 2014. http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/Sustainability-and-Fishing-Methods.html World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Threats: overfishing, 2014. Web. 3 April 2014. http://worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing WWF position paper. WWF statement on fish aggregation devices (fads) in tuna fisheries. 3 April 2014.
http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/tuna_fad_position_november_2011_.pdf
Biology: The average length of a Skipjack Tuna is 32 inches long (80cm) and weigh anywhere between 7-22 pounds (8-10kg). The current record for the biggest Skipjack Tuna weighs in at 76 pounds (34.5kg) and was 43 inches long (108cm). The colour of the top region is either dark blue or purple, and the lower region including the belly are primarily a silver colour with anywhere from 4-6 dark, broken lines that run across the body (FLMNH). The body shape is elongated and possesses a fusiform shape, meaning it is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends; it also possesses a bilateral symmetry. There are two dorsal fins present, the first consisting of around 14-16 spines. There is a small gap in between the two fins, and the second fin is spineless (ADW) (FLMNH). Behind the second dorsal fin, are between 7-9 finlets, which aid the fish in “reducing turbulence and maintaining directional control when swimming at high speeds” (Gardieff, Susie). On the underlying side of the Tuna, the anal fin is present and it is in about the same location below the second dorsal fin, and following the anal fin is another 7-8 finlets. The fish has short pectoral fins consisting of between 26-27 rays. The fish also have a single row of teeth, shaped conically (cone shaped) (FLMNH).
In the past twenty years a large amount of bottlenose dolphin have been killed due to the tuna fishery. In the Eastern Pacific swim large schools of tuna, these shoals tend to be under herds of dolphins, for some unexplained reason. Because of this, fishermen can easily find schools of tuna. The tuna are being caught under purse seine nets, which encircles the shoals of tuna and then is pulled back on board the fishing vessel, catching both tuna and dolphin. Initially the mortality rate was 500,000 each year for dolphins alone. Although some efforts are made to encourage the dolphins to leave the net by backing down part of the net, which allows the dolphins to escape, there are still a large number of mortalities (Bryant). On the other hand, in the last few years there has been dramatic progress in stopping the fishing industries from using purse sine nets. It has been found that dolphins are in immediate danger of extinction if these fishing techniques don’t stop.
The Delta Smelt lives mainly in California’s San Francisco Bay Delta. It can grow to be only 7 cm. long and lives towards the bottom of the food chain. Serving as an important food source for the other fish in the delta, the smelt is also helpful for scientists as an ecological indicator. Ecologists have used the smelt to measure how healthy the delta ecosystem
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With a coastline of over 202,000 km and over a fourth of the world’s freshwater resources, it is no wonder why Canada’s fishing industry is a huge part of its economy.1 Canada exports more than 75% of its fish to over 130 countries worldwide. Many of the 7 million people who reside on the coast depend on the ocean’s resources. In total, Canada’s entire fishing industry is worth around $5 billion a year, being one of the world’s most valuable. However, the coasts have not been treated with respect; overfishing, over consumption, and wasteful practices have deteriorated, not only the industry, but the ecosystems and fish populations. This is a huge global issue; the worldwide collapse of fisheries is projected for 2048.
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Overfishing is a harmful practice, that will eventually lead to the collapse of aquatic ecosystems, if it’s not dealt with promptly. Overfishing emerges from the combination of our over consumptive society mixed with the great profits that come from hauling in a good catch. The consumers demand for fish in Japan seems to be at an increasingly high rate due to the enjoyment and cultural values that arise from sushi and other traditional dishes involving seafood. Approximately 23 percent of Japan’s protein intake comes from the ocean, and as a nation consumes 7.5 million tonnes of seafood annually. CITATION
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As reported in Yale e360, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/in_japan_a_david_versus_goliath_battle_to_preserve_bluefin_tuna/2950/ small-scale Japanese fishermen are fighting the big guys to save the disappearing tuna and to save their livelihoods. Before industrial fishing practices started, the Pacific bluefin tuna was abundant. But Japan's industrial fishing targeting the Pacific bluefin tuna's spawning grounds is accelerating the decline: thousands of congregated fish are scooped up in giant nets and sold to corporations like Nippon Suisan Kaisha and Maruha Nichiro Corporation. And this is only one of two confirmed spawning sites.
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The need for more sustainable fish farming is crucial, according to the report. Farmed seafood provides 42 percent of the world's seafood supply, and is on target to exceed half in the next decade, yet there are no widely accepted standards for what constitutes good fish farming. By comparison, the organic food industry has strong international and national standards, even though it makes up just 3 to 5 percent of the world's food supply.
Products in the Stingrae line includes:- squid, crab backs, crab meat, shrimps, prawns, lobster (live and frozen), flying fish, white salmon, pink salmon, counter caviar, fillets of white fish, mussels, octopus and a variety of other seafood products.
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