Tuna...The Great Debate!

Study this picture well. It's an image you've probably seen so many times over the years. In your lunchbox as a kid, in your kitchen cupboard, in you local supermarket shelf, and in the sandwich you bought just yesterday.

THIS IS THE PRIZE! THIS IS WHAT ALL THIS IS ABOUT! 

Commercial fisherman bringing this tasty flesh to your table. BUT....what is the cost really?

Let's be honest...if you want to eat meat or fish, an animal has to die for that to happen. We all know that, but if you are going to choose to eat flesh (we are both meat eaters might we add), we should support a way of doing it that is most humane and most sustainable. 

Let's look at the way it's done. Here are the contenders. Let's compare and see the effects they are having on other wildlife and the oceans. Consider the big 4. In fact there are 5 main methods, but we'll talk about that final (and somewhat most unknown yet sustainable version a little bit later).

1. Trawling
2. Farming
3. Purse Seine
4. Longline

All very effective Tuna catching methods no doubt....BUT...?

1. Trawling is a very scary prospect indeed. Trawling is wiping out so much of our oceans. So much so, that more and more fish are becoming critically endangered species all the time. Not to mention the millions and millions of bycatch that helplessly die from being caught in these ginormous nets.

The above illustration is not too far off the real deal below. What you can see in this aerial view is just to tip of the iceberg, or net in this instance. The rest is below the water line. What you don't think about, is what else gets caught and killed inside. Not to mention the devastation that trawling has on the ocean floor, coral, natural vegetation, etc.

2. Farming is another method. We have overfished the seas, and species are struggling to come back from it. The world population is on the rise and we are always looking at cheaper and quicker ways to feed the masses. So we resort to farming the fish ourselves in huge manmade netted pools. Here the fish are bred and fed. Are they still fish then? They are eating what we want them to eat, they are swimming where we want them to, and living in an environment that we made up for them. Are they still fish in their purest forms? Or a manmade organism? We know, we'd rather be putting the real deal into our mouths. How about you?

The above illustration is exactly how it is. See below two pics showing huge farming pools if tuna. Encaged, imprisoned, and grow for our enjoyment.

3. Purse Seine is a way of fishing using a seine or dragnet. The top of the net is held by floats at the surface, while at the bottom are a number of rings. A line passes through all the rings and then gets drawn together similar to a traditional style purse, and this stops the fish from escaping downwards. This is the preferred method for catching fish that stick to the surface and also hang out in large schools. It's better for the ocean floor that trawling, but once again, the BIG problem is all the other sea creatures that get caught and get sacrificed in this process (as demonstrated in the second illustration).

4. Longline fishing is made out to be (certainly marketed by the big brand to be) better and more sustainable for our oceans and our fish. However the reality is that thousands of animals are unnecessarily killed each year using this method. You cannot stop a curious creature taking the bait on these ultra sharp hooks can you? Turtles, Sharks, Sea Birds (especially Albatross), Stingrays...are all getting caught up.

Here are some devastating results of the use of different types of commercial fishing for tuna (and most other fish types as well no doubt).

5. Tuna Poling! The winner by knockout!!! (THIS IS THE ONE WE FEEL IS THE MOST HUMANE, UNKNOWN, AND SUSTAINABLE OPTION). 

Tuna poling (catching tuna by hand on poles which are traditionally made of bamboo) is a rather simple way of commercial fishing that hasn't been done in nearly half a century in most places. It's making a come back now, as there is a market for it once again, since we consumers are more concerned with finding a sustainable way of getting our tuna, that limits the damage to our seas and to other sea creatures. 

Burley (churned fish such as mackerel & pilchards which is designed to attract fish to your bait) was thrown out alongside the boat, and a hose constantly sprayed water lightly on the surface of the sea to keep the tuna below excited and active. Men that were in small wooden or metal platforms that where connected to the side of the boats would then tuna pole standing from those spots. As a man lifted the huge tuna out of the water and into the boat, no sooner was he already throwing his line back in again. It wasn't the same as hooking a fish as you do today and having to take time to take the hook out. The hooks where designed for the tuna to simply hold in their mouths. It was quick, it was hard work, and each man potentially caught tonnes of tuna just themselves on a day out (still adding to the decline of fish is our seas YES for sure, but No other species affected, NO bycatch, NO turtles, NOTHING else).

The catch would then be chilled below deck before returning to shore for processing in the factory and eventually canned for our enjoyment.

See below description of tuna poling, as well as a photo and some raw 1960's footage of a commercial tuna poling boat in action, that we took from the Eden Whale Museum recently. They have a very interesting room there at the museum that is dedicated to the the old days of commercial tuna poling.

So where does that take us now?

Well it's important to be informed. Now that you're a little more informed about how it all goes down, you can make better choices for you and mankind.

When buying your canned tuna, check to see how the tuna is caught (if it's pole caught it will say so). There is a whole new line of canned tuna that is pole caught for the conscious consumer. ALDI is one of the best supermarkets for this. A German company with some forward thinking, they have been stocking sustainable pole caught tuna, salmon and mussels for years now. Recently we noticed that Coles have also released a new line of pole caught tuna too (obviously they are becoming more in-tune with the consumer demands).

ALDI brand

Coles brand

Also look for the MSC (Certified Sustainable Seafood) label on your can. It's your guarantee. 

ALDI uses it, but Coles are yet to catch on we think. It looks like this below.

A FINAL THOUGHT?

WHETHER YOU AGREE TO EATING MEAT OR NOT...NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF WE DO NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IF WE CONTINUE TO TURN A BLIND EYE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DAMAGE THE PLANET. IF WE DEMAND BETTER AND TAKE A STAND, WE ALL CAN HELP TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. 

ANIMALS WILL BE KILLED FOR OUR SUSTENANCE, LAND WILL BE DECIMATED FOR OUR VEGES, TREES WILL BE CUT DOWN FOR OUR WARMTH FROM THE WOOD, THAT'S THE REALITY WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH...

BUT HOW ABOUT DOING IT AS HUMANELY AS WE CAN?