Processed Tuna

CraigC

CraigC

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If you eat canned or jarred tuna, what do you prefer? Being the seafood snob that I am, I will only purchase canned or jarred yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil, from Spain or Italy.
 
For a quick lunch of tuna salad I am not overly picky. Charlie the Tuna in the packets are just fine.

A couple of times a year we manage to get our hands on fresh caught yellowfin. George, or his son or his best Bud or all three will charter a boat for tuna fishing. Usually 60 miles out, fishing the oil platforms in very deep, blue water. Really sweet. The charter captain cleans the fish and ices them down. When Honey gets home the first thing we do is cut paper thin slices to eat raw. Next we have grilled tuna steak - medium rare. The rest is vacuum packed and frozen. We have 2 upright freezers in the shop. Both are manual defrost - a pain for me to clean but food in the freezer does not get freezer burned as quickly as it would in a self defrost freezer.
 
There is debate in the UK about tuna in general and sustainibilty. Its a complicated picture. See here for the arguments: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2016/jul/27/is-there-any-tuna-thats-to-eat-tesco

Here are a few extracts:
There are seven varieties of tuna you might buy: albacore, bigeye, skipjack, yellowfin, Atlantic bluefin (farmed and wild), southern bluefin (farmed and wild) and Pacific bluefin. One rule here is simple: avoid all bluefin tuna. Some are critically endangered species, and even farmed bluefin have to be captured from the wild. So no bluefin. Ever.

Albacore can be sustainable, bigeye and yellowfin rarely are, so the best tuna variety to choose is generally skipjack, a fast-growing species that is still quite plentiful around the world and makes up most of the tinned tuna you will find. The problem here, however, is how it’s caught.
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Even healthy tuna stocks can be fished in such a way that lots of other animals – such as dolphins, sharks, seabirds and turtles – get killed in the process. Dragging a short line through the water means it can be aimed carefully, and checked more often, so it is better at catching tuna only. The names of these better methods are handline, pole-and-line or troll fishing. Fishing with a long line – often tens of kilometres long – is less safe, as it is hard to control and stays in the water for longer.

Fishing with a big net is generally even worse, as other animals get scooped up indiscriminately. However, it is not always unsustainable. Tuna caught by purse seine or pelagic trawl is sometimes fine. On the whole, you should avoid tuna caught by gillnet or drift net.
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Unless you go out and catch bluefin tuna yourself, you can't compete with the demand In Japan. Many other species are harvested with no respect of sustainability to support the Japanese market. I won't go into what I have personally witnessed the rape of natural, saltwater resources for the greed associated with the Japanese gluttony for other counties seafood. My friend and business associate won an Oscar for his work on the documentary "The Cove". I have to stop, my blood is starting to boil!:devil:
 
@CraigC

We - U.S. have recognized the need for limits. Only after raping our own land and seas. We have only recently become concerned about sustainability. Don't have a stroke - I agree - the Japanese rape the seas. The only thing we can do is refuse to purchase Japanese harvested sea food. The same goes for Chinese sea food. If it is not American harvested - do not buy it.

A friend of ours is a serious food hoarder. He has 4 chest freezers and 2 upright freezers. J and his wife are the only members of the household. Last year he called and raved about a great deal on frog legs - a Louisiana delicacy. I called the store to inquire about availability. The first thing the manager told me was that the frog legs were not local - from China!:hyper: NOT!!

I have mentioned in another post that any members wanting to order crawfish on-line should make sure they are Louisiana crawfish. Another market that the Chinese have tried to take over.

Regardless of where you are - buy local. That actually supports sustainability. You are not supporting nations that rape the land and seas.

@CraigC

DEEP breaths!:)
 
CraigC said:
Unless you go out and catch bluefin tuna yourself, you can't compete with the demand In Japan. Many other species are harvested with no respect of sustainability to support the Japanese market. I won't go into what I have personally witnessed the rape of natural, saltwater resources for the greed associated with the Japanese gluttony for other counties seafood. My friend and business associate won an Oscar for his work on the documentary "The Cove". I have to stop, my blood is starting to boil!:devil:
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Great post. There is much ignorance for such matters, even on foodie forums like this. Just looked up the film - looks fascinating. Will try and find it online to watch later today.
 
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