For over 40 years, starting in the 1920’s, San Diego was the Tuna capital of the the world. With a massive fleet of fishing boats and a complex of processing plants supplying tuna to a hungry world, the fishery was the third-largest employer in San Diego to only the US Navy and the aerospace industry. It was truly a way of life for mid-century San Diegans. The good times didn’t last however. With the end of WWII, major corporations started buying out the local processors and alienating the independent fishermen. Japanese imports further eroded the market and concerns over dolphins made the move to offshore fishing cheaper, driving the final nail in the coffin for what was once the late, great Tuna Town. by 1984 it was all but over.
Today, there isn’t much left of Tuna Town. Bumblebee Tuna has it’s corporate HQ there and a sustainable pole-and-line fishery has emerged but most of what the industry was is gone. But not forgotten. Catalina Offshore Products, a 40 year veteran of seafood supply in San Diego, just announced the launch of a line of sustainably U.S. caught “choice” canned tuna line. With a “catch to can” concept, the line promises to deliver a safer and better managed product for the fishery. It also brings a little reminder of what tuna fishing was like in San Diego when big, fast fish ran the town.
Enjoy the video below from the golden age of tuna fishing in California.
CALIFORNIA FINE DIVING 