How smart shopping habits can help save the future of the commercial tuna industry
Since the 1970s, tuna fishing has increased by over 1000%. Tuna, a nutritious and widely available protein source, is now the most eaten and second most caught fish in the world.
But purchasing a can of tuna can have disastrous environmental consequences. Some species are even on the brink of extinction, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change our consumption habits to promote sustainably caught tuna and species with stable stocks.
Tuna is a low-calorie and low-fat protein source, containing a variety of essential vitamins and minerals. It’s often the sole seafood item on restaurant menus, and even fast-food chains such as Subway promote it as a ‘healthier’ sandwich option, even though their tuna sub may not be tuna at all. Yet, one in four Americans eat tuna weekly, pointing to the fish’s rise in popularity as a healthy alternative.
Gazing down an aisle of grinning fish plastered onto small aluminum cans—reading everything from albacore or skipjack, water or oil, and dolphin-safe or MSC certified—it can be a complex task to select even a single can.
Almost all packaged tuna is wild-caught. But 0.1% of the tuna we eat is raised on a fishing farm. Although farming fish doesn’t kill the species, farming an endangered tuna increases wild fishing demand, ultimately harming that species chance of survival.
Different certifications are used on tuna labels, such as the sustainable fisheries partnership and dolphin-safe labels, but these can be difficult to find and decipher. Tuna labels also don’t include certification guidelines, which causes more confusion as to which labels are better than others.
In addition, these certifications are developed by third parties whose goal is profit, not sustainability. Since selecting the sustainable choice is entirely on the consumer, here’s the top three things you need to know to avoid any ‘fishy’ labels.
Catching methods, fish species, and fishing location all determine the environmental impact of your tuna purchase.
1. Pick pole-and-line or Purse Seine fishing methods.
The most important thing to know when selecting sustainable tuna is exactly how the fish is caught. There are three main types of fishing methods: longline, Purse Seine, and pole-caught (or pole-and-line).
Image credit: Oceans, 2021
Longline fishing accounts for approximately 10% of all tuna caught and is an easier way to bait the deeper water tuna such as albacore, bluefin, and yellowfin. Longline has an alarming 20% bycatch rate. The term bycatch is designated when the sheer amount of hooks in the water accidentally harms other fish, sometimes killing endangered species like sea turtles and killer whales.
Purse Seine is the most common fishing method, catching two-thirds of the world’s tuna. Purse Seine commercial boats utilize a circular net that surrounds entire schools of fish. Bycatch rates in this fishing method comprise less than 1% of the total catch. But some vessels use fish aggregating devices, or FADs, which draw fish closer to the surface, therefore increasing the bycatch even more. If purchasing Purse Seine tuna, be sure to look for ‘FAD-free’ on the label.
Only 8% of tuna are caught by the pole-and-line, or pole-caught, method — which uses fishing poles to catch the fish one-by-one. Pole-and-line fishing has almost no bycatch which is great news for the sea turtles. But its ships burn through the most fuel out of any vessel because it’s the most time-consuming catching method.
2. Basically, skip everything but the skipjack.
The four main varieties of tuna are all overfished, although some do have more stable populations.
Image credit: The Spruce
Bluefin tuna are critically endangered, exploited, and nearing extinction. Bluefin is so overfished that its populations cannot reproduce fast enough to replace themselves. Even though some bluefin is farmed — Japan farms over 30% of its bluefin — the popularity of the fish type can mean an increase in wild-caught, too. This is why consuming bluefin tuna should be avoided entirely.
Yellowfin, which accounts for 28% of all tuna caught, is also at risk. Increasingly, caught yellowfin tuna are becoming smaller in size — and, the fish are living shorter lives and reproducing less and less — destabilizing the population at large. And because only one method of catching them, pole-caught, can even be considered a more sustainable choice, this fish should be avoided altogether.
Almost one-third of all canned tuna is actually albacore. This tuna’s rapid rise in popularity has increased overfishing and longline catching methods, which are harmful to endangered marine species like sea turtles and killer whales. So, when choosing this fish, it’s important to look for ‘pole-caught’ on the label.
Lastly, skipjack, often described as ‘chunk light’ or ‘light meat,’ accounts for over 70% of all canned tuna. Skipjack is plentiful, reproduces rapidly, and is the most sustainable choice in the tuna aisle.
3. Yes, regulations really make a difference.
A final thing to consider when purchasing tuna is location. Illegal fishing is common within the tuna industry, and only some countries pass laws and use monitoring technology to make sure regulations are followed. For example, President Obama increased electronic tuna monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico, reducing bycatch and protecting bluefin breeding areas. Although the Trump Administration rolled back these regulations, President Biden will likely increase protections for wild-caught tuna.
Global Fishing Watch, a Google platform, uses real-time data to track commercial fishing vessels and fight unsustainable fishing methods.
To locate the most protected marine areas, explore their interactive fishing map. The map can also pinpoint overfished and illegal catch locations.
Overall, there are many environmental concerns with tuna, from killing sea turtles and killer whales to potentially annihilating entire marine species.
But it’s important to note that the tuna industry generates up to $40 billion annually for the global economy and supports over 260 million fishers worldwide. Countries such as Indonesia and Japan rely on tuna fishing for their economies, catching 568,170 and 369,696 metric tons respectively.
Eating less tuna, or deciding to not eat it at all, is certainly a sustainable choice. But, this personal activism does not pressure fishing companies to change their habits or garner enough attention for governments to take notice. Eating tuna can be done with the environment in mind while supporting fishers and promoting sustainable catching. Choosing tuna with stable stocks, such as skipjack, and looking for environmentally sound catch methods, such as FAD-free purse seine or pole-and-line, can increase the demand for sustainable fishing altogether.
By fishing for just the right tuna at your own supermarket, you’re raising awareness for the sustainable tuna industry. This small but important step can save depleted stocks, expand safe catch methods, and help change perceptions of the world’s most consumed fish.
Phil Gurley