Wednesday May 11, 2022
PEW Charitable Trust —
One pointed lesson from the suite of problems facing the ocean and marine life is this: Humanity cannot afford to wait until it’s almost too late to help ecosystems and wildlife recover from trouble.
Fishery managers should apply that lesson to north Pacific albacore, a long-time staple of the canned tuna section in grocery stores.
At the start of the 20th century, north Pacific albacore sparked the growth of the United States’ canned tuna industry. Once shunned by fishermen, the mild-flavored fish first hit the market in Southern California and soon eclipsed mackerel and sardines in sales nationwide.
Today, albacore remains popular among consumers and, fortunately, in the Pacific Ocean is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing—two distinct conditions in the fishery management continuum.